


Battle of the coffee shops

by SherlocksDoctor



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Ehehehe but not cool like jack, F/M, Human AU (Sorta), M/M, Magic, Romance, Sandy's cool tho, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Character Death, coffeehouse AU, do you get it? because Jack is cold and...., haha - Freeform, nevermind, not necessarily good!North, or Tooth, or bunny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlocksDoctor/pseuds/SherlocksDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Sorry you're not what we're looking for in an employee." The tall man behind the counter drawled in a tone that suggested he knew all too well why Jack hadn't been able to get any other jobs. Jack's eyes narrowed and he placed his hands on the counter. Leaning forward in an attempt to intimidate the man who was nearly 7 inches taller than him, he began to speak.</p><p>((In desperate need of money, Jack takes on two jobs in a town that obsesses with holidays. The Christmas Cafe and All Hallows coffee shop both allow him to work hours that fit his schedule and are only across the street from each other. This seems like the perfect solution to his money problems, until he finds out that the two shops have a rivalry that has lasted generations.))<br/>AKA- It's some freaky wizard zombie shit with a couple of part time jobs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was an unusually cheery morning in the halls of Virginia state university. The first snow of the season was falling in soft, fluffy clumps. In the courtyard, people were dancing and throwing snowballs at each other, their laughter carrying all the way into the dorm of one Jack Frost.

The usually mischievous teen couldn't find it in himself to join in on the winter cheer. He was staring at a pile of paperwork on his desk next to several beer cans that his roommate Loki had left laying around. Loki was a senior here at Virginia state, it was his last year and he was almost ready to start-up his own restaurant. He and Jack were both trying to major in the culinary arts. Loki who dreamed of one day becoming the chef at a five-star restaurant had recently quit his old job to take on a better paying job at a more well-known restaurant. Jack however wanted to open up his own bakery, ever since he was little he had loved baking. He was just starting out at college and he definitely hadn't anticipated all the money it would cost. His good grades had gotten him only a few scholarships, but even with that money he still had to take out student loans. He had $12,000 to pay back now and he had no idea what he was going to do. He had to move away from hometown of Burgess and with that his old job (Which wasn't much anyway) and now, no one would hire him. He supposed it was because of his hair.

When Jack was about fifteen he'd been in an ice-skating accident, The ice had broken and he had fallen in and nearly drowned. He had been so terrified that by the week after that, all of his hair had turned completely white. Now most places think he's a delinquent who dyed his hair strange colors for attention. Every place he could find locally wouldn't hire him.

While he was busy sulking, Jack didn't notice Loki slipping back into the dorm with an advertisement in hand.

"Hey Jackie, I think I've found the perfect solution to your problem!" Jack looked up and stared at Loki, who was still wearing his chef outfit even though his shift had ended two hours ago. Loki shoved the ad in Jack's face so he could read it. Rolling his eyes Jack took the paper and glanced over it. In a flowing script were the words ' All Hallows coffee shop, now hiring!' Jack threw the ad on the floor and went back to glaring out of the window.

"You forget that I still have freaky hair. No one wants to hire a 'delinquent'." grumbled Jack making air quotes as he talked, mocking what the many businesses managers had whispered to their coworkers as he had walked out of their establishment. Jack's attitude did nothing to deter Loki's enthusiasm.

"That's just it though!" He sang, leaping like a gazelle over to Jack's chair.

"I'm such a genius, I have no idea why I didn't think of this earlier but that's the place I used to work at. I can ask the owner to give you a chance." While Loki was jumping around and looking pleased with himself, Jack's eyes widened.

"Really? You could do that for me?" Jack was usually never thankful for his mischief causing roommate, but if there was ever a time for it, it was now. Loki lost his smile and shook his head mournfully.

"No Jack, I can't do that...Because I already did!" Loki's chaotic laughter filled the dorm room and Jack could do nothing but stare at the crazed maniac he shared a room with.

"What do you mean you already did?" Jack had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well on my way back from work I stopped in and saw the sign, so I talked the owner into letting giving you an interview, as the cook, might I add." Jack stood up from his chair, the Winter spirit finally catching up with him.

"When's my interview, then?" Loki just smiled and held up a finger.

"It's in one hour!" Jack stopped moving all together before he and Loki looked at each other in realization.

"I didn't think that through did I?" The next twenty minutes were filled with screaming and running around in panic. Jack ran to take a shower while Loki rummaged though the closet for something that would look nice. Loki let out a war cry as he barreled into the closet, fighting against all the shirts and pants that had fallen on him as he searched. Jack walked outside of the bathroom with just a blue pair of boxers on.

"What am I supposed to wear?" He was trying to keep his voice level but seeing Loki buried in their closet wasn't helping the nervousness that was building u pin his stomach. Loki grunted and pulled a hand out from under the pile of clothes. He had managed to find a nice, plain dress shirt and some black slacks. Jack grabbed them as quick as he could and slid them on. Loki got out a pair of dress shoes that had found a hiding spot in the back of the closet and threw them to Jack with some socks. While Jack was tying up his shoes, Loki was tying a blue tie around his collar.

"Alright little man, go get em'" Loki ruffled Jack's hair and pushed him out of the dorm room. Normally Jack would have argued about how '5,6 isn't small, he was just freakishly tall.' but he realized that he was a bit pressed for time at the moment and let it slide. For this time at least. Jack dashed outside, his car was in a parking lot just off campus. He inwardly cursed that freshmen couldn't have their cars on campus. He was out of breath by the time he reached his car and could see he looked a mess in his reflection. His shirt was halfway un-tucked and his silver locks were splaying everywhere. He unlocked his car as fast as he could and checked his phone. It was 3:35 which meant he had only twenty-five minutes to get to a town that was thirty minutes away. Driving as fast as he could without getting pulled over, Jack sped out of the city and to Season city. It was an odd place that Loki had told him many stories about, apparently all the stores in town were based off of holidays. Then again Loki wasn't that much of a trustworthy source of information. Using his phone Jack got the directions to the to the coffee shop.

He pulled up to a dark looking restaurant, a black and orange sign hanging above that read 'All Hallows coffee shop'.

"This has to be the right place." He muttered, parking his car behind a line of other cars on the other side of the street.

He walked though the front doors, desperately trying to make himself look presentable before the interview. There was a decent amount of people in the shop, all sitting down and enjoying their food.

Jack made his way to the front of the store, and at the register was a tall man who had dark spiky hair and...Grey skin? Jack ignored this feature for now, he hated when people talked about his hair, so asking about his skin probably wasn't the best idea if he wanted to get on their good side.

"Can I help you?" The man had an almost silken voice, that dripped with an authoritative tone.

"Umm yes I'm looking for a Mr. Black about a job intervie-" He hadn't even gotten the entire sentence out when a deep voice interrupted him.

"Sorry you're not what we're looking for in an employee." The tall man behind the counter drawled in a tone that suggested he knew all too well why Jack hadn't been able to get any other jobs. Jack's eyes narrowed and he placed his hands on the counter. Leaning forward in an attempt to intimidate the man who was nearly 7 inches taller than him, he began to speak.

"You know what? Well you probably do since you seem to know everything around here, but I don't care. I don't care if I'm not the 'type of employee you're looking for' How would you know? You never even talked to me! You can't just judge people like that! I was promised an interview and I am going to get one, even if I don't actually get the job." Jack had worked himself into a frenzy and could have continued with his rant but the man stopped him by holding out a Grey hand.

"My name is Pitch Black, and you are hired." Jack, who was collecting breath for another rant, deflated.

"What?" He couldn't believe what he was being told. Was this man insane?  
"You heard me. You've shown that you hold the passion needed to work here, and I'm going to trust Loki when he says you've got the talent. So here." Pitch handed Jack a menu and shooed him away.

"Study this menu. You start tomorrow at this same time, I expect to see you here on time." Jack walked out of the shop in a daze. They hadn't even discussed pay, but he supposed he could ask Loki about that. Loki did work there for three years after all. Jack walked across the street to his car, examining the menu. It seemed that everything on the menu was Halloween related. Taking a minute to look at the other shops around the area he saw that for once Loki hadn't been yanking his chain. Every store down the street was based on a different holiday. He could see a store a couple blocks away that was decorated with giant four leaf clovers and a shop that was directly across from his new place of employment had a bright neon sign that read 'The Christmas café'.

Speaking of Christmas, a man who looked like Santa Claus himself was making his way towards him.

"Hey you. kid!" He called out, he had a Russian accent that made him seem just a bit scarier than he already was. Jack wasn't sure whether to run or stay and talk. The man seemed safe enough, it was bright out and people were walking by.

"Would you like a job?" It seemed like the oddest question to walk up and ask a stranger and Jack backed away, closer to his car.

"Oh! No, no, nothing of bad kind, I assure you! I own the Christmas café and our janitor just quit. If you wouldn't mind a minimum wage job at the graveyard shift, come to the Christmas cafe at 9 tomorrow night." The Russian Santa walked back into the Cafe leaving a bewildered Jack back at his car. Jack got into his car and turned up the volume on his radio. Jack pushed the gas pedal and drove away from the crazy holiday obsessed town that gave jobs away without a second thought, wishing for the first time that his parents had payed for his first year of college instead of buying him a car.


	2. Just a little pinch of spice

Jack trudged into his dorm room after a tiring morning in class. His teacher, Mr. Ramsay, had gone off the handle when someone had sneezed while they were cooking. He had been blamed for sneezing even though the sneeze came from nowhere near him, but hey I bet Mr. Ramsay's gonna regret that when he realizes his lunch has been replaced with gas station tuna sandwich.

He let out a satisfied sigh as he flopped onto his bed, only to have it move under him. With an undignified and rather girly shriek, Jack leapt from the bed and tumbled onto the floor. Scrambling onto his feet he went over to his bed to see what was hiding under his bed and he probably wasn't as shocked as he should have been when he saw what it was.

"Loki, why are you under my bed..." Jack gave an over dramatic huff before adding,

"Again?" Loki crawled out from under the bed like a snake, hissing sounds and all.

"Liven up bro, I was just... Well no, actually I don't have an excuse for this one so subtle subject change how did the interview go?" Loki shook his dark locks out as he stood from the floor, now towering several inches above Jack.

"Well I got the job, but you didn't tell me that the dude was a jerk, oh and there's a spider on your shoulder." Loki was about to ask what happened when his mind actually processed what Jack had said. He took off screaming and trying to shake the spider off finally giving Jack the peace and quiet he wanted. Jack laid back on his bed and began to study the menu. He only had about twenty minutes before Loki realized that there was no spider in the first place and came back to the room.

Jack pulled up to the his spot across from the coffee shop and grabbed the menu. He locked his car and ran across the street to All Hallows where Pitch Black himself was waiting at the door.

"Just on time." Pitch announced, opening the door for him. He was dressed in what seemed to be his usual dark clothing that covered up everything except his face neck and hands. Jack handed Pitch the menu and waited to hear what to do. Like usual the restaurant was bustling with activity although one table was completely silent where a man dressed completely in yellow was typing furiously on his golden colored laptop, a matching yellow mug of coffee sitting on the table beside him.

"Follow me back to the kitchens, I'm going to assume that you read the menu?" Jack already hated this man. He spoke to him like he was just some kid who didn't know up from down.

"Yes sir." He said trying to keep the growing loathing from spilling into his voice. Pitch led him back into the kitchen which was surprisingly small, but he supposed that since it was only a coffee shop that was alright.

"This is a coffee shop but sometimes you will need to actually bake things for some customers. It's mostly simple things that you should know how to make, just make sure that you use a pinch of this, in every recipe." Pitch opened a brown sack that was full of what looked like red sand, but certainly didn't smell like it. Jack in all his life had never seen a spice that looked or smelt like this one. The smell was so potent that he could have smelt it from outside of the kitchen, but it went away the moment Pitch closed the bag.

"For now you will work out front at the cash register and making whatever it is the customers want. I'm not expecting anyone to order any...Baked goods today so I wouldn't worry about it." Pitch's voice had taken on a darker tone and a dangerous smirk was playing on his lips. Jack couldn't stop the shiver that ran through him. Pitch walked him back to the front and handed him a recipe list.

"This is how to make all the different drinks on the menu. I have something to attend to so I'm hoping you will do this right. Oh and sign this." Pitch pulled a piece of paper from the counter that Jack could have sworn wasn't there a second ago, along with a 'All Hallows coffee shop' pen. Jack took the pen and looked hesitantly at the paper, he felt like he was signing a death warrant.

"Oh don't look so upset, it's just saying that you work here so I can add you to the payroll." The smirk that was menacing only moments ago had turned into a more playful one, Jack took that as a good sign and put his signature on the paper. Taking the paper into hand Pitch walked off into a room which Jack guessed was his office, and shut the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was only about ten minutes later when Jack's first customer had arrived. Jack wasn't nervous at all. His first job had been at Hooters when he was seventeen, and when he turned eighteen he was taken out of work in the kitchen and made a host. He had learned soon after becoming a host how to deal with any type of customers. To settle a lawsuit the Hooters managers had to hire a male waiter and as Jack was easy on the eyes and a bit girly himself, he was chosen to be the restaurants first male waiter in the area. In fact he had a whole bunch of people who would request him as a server when they came in to eat. When he quit to go to college a little less than a year later, many of the regulars were sad to see him go and the workers all put together some money and got him a necklace. The necklace itself was an odd amulet that looked like some sort of squiggly symbol but it was a gift from his friends and it was pretty so he wore it under his shirt at all Times. It had become like a part of him now. He felt odd when he wasn't wearing it.

A man around his age walked up to the counter, he was wearing an army uniform and held his head high.

"Anything I can get for you today, sir?" Jack asked, silently marveling at the handsome man who was standing in front of him.

"Ahh, yes can I get the witches brew please, it's my favorite." Looking down the recipe list which he soon saw was not alphabetical but listed by what was most popular, Jack nodded.

"Can do mister!" Jack smiled happily and rushed around making the brew.

"So are you new here?" The man asked, making sure to flash a smile at Jack.

"Yeah, I just started here today, that'll be $3.17." He finished, putting the whip cream topped coffee on the counter. The man gave him the money and started to walk off before turning around.

"My name's Don, I didn't quite catch yours?" Jack blushed

"Oh my names Jack, Jack Frost." The soldier walked out of the store, repeating the name softly to himself.

The rest of the day passed in the same fashion. Everyone seemed to love the new employee at All Hallows. When Pitch came out of his office about twenty minutes before closing time, he was surprised to see a long line that stretched out of the store. His golden eyes flashed angrily and he was about to yell at Jack for letting the line get so long, when he realized that Jack was actually working at a faster pace than even Loki had worked at, it just seemed that for some reason there had been an in rush of customers. Pitch stepped in beside Jack and activated the second register, which he actually hadn't had to use since he had it installed. They just never seemed to have enough customers to have to use two registers.

"I'll take the next person in line." Pitch called, a few other people stepped over but most of them stayed in Jack's lane.

"Oh no way, I'm staying right here Louise, I want to see that boy who Don was talking about!" He heard someone tell their friend who was moving to his register.

"Mary-Ann told me that he was like a total hottie, like she would break up with Ashton if he asked her out." Another girl gossiped as the line to Jack's register slowly decreased in size. Pitch continued taking orders while watching Jack deal with his line. Pitch couldn't believe it when his line was empty and everyone was still waiting in Jack's line. Pitch went and put a closed sign on the door, hoping to stop the crowd from getting any larger. And soon both Jack and Pitch had cleared out the coffee house.

Jack wiped his forehead and looked towards Pitch, not sure what to do next.

"Your official schedule is all week at the usual time and then the weekends off. You will get $9.19 an hour. Welcome to All Hallows, Jack." Jack gulped nervously and nodded his head. No customer he had met all day could have made him nervous, but Pitch... Pitch was another story, something seemed off about him.

"Well it wasn't as bad as I thought actually, I'm glad to be working here." Speaking of working, Jack suddenly remembered the offer he had received from a strange Russian Santa yesterday.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"9:03" Pitch said as he looked down at his watch which was halfway hidden by his sleeves. Jack ran around the counter and to the door, shouting,

"See you tomorrow!" Which was soon followed by "Oh shit, I'm already late!" as he exited the store. Jack ran straight into the Christmas café and was greeted by the oddest site.

A giant man who looked like a professional wrestler was leaning up against the Christmas tree decorated wall, next to an even bigger guy who looked like he could snap Jack in half with his thumb. The Russian Santa was standing next to a short woman who wore a dress that looked like it was made from several colorful birds. They all looked over as the door bells jingled and simultaneously greeted him.

"Welcome Jack." Jack paled and backed up to the door, what had he gotten himself into?


	3. An odd catch

Jack felt the blood leave his face as he looked at these strangers who knew his name. He was all alone in this shop with a bunch of people who knew his name. It was dark out and Pitch had probably already headed home, what was he going to do? Suddenly the Russian Santa man gave a boisterous laugh that shook his entire body.

"See? I told you that would scare him, did I not?" Jack felt like he was on the wrong side of a bad joke. The pro wrestler looking dude snorted in amusement and walked towards him.

"Alrighty then Jack, You can call me bunnymund. It's mah last name and I dont like you well enough to tell you my first name. Now I have to go, I don't have time to greet every person who walks in the store." The man, Bunnymund continued grumbling as he pushed the doors open and walked out of the cafe. Jack stared at the people in front of him in amazement. They really weren't going to kill him like in some B-rated scary movie? He felt like falling to his knees in relief, but that still left one problem.

"How did you all know my name?" He was surprised that his voice wasn't wavering. They had managed to scare him pretty good for the employees of a Christmas themed cafe.

"Ah, well one night at the lucky nights St. Patrick's bar, I met a fellow named Loki who has quite a loose tounge when he drinks." Jack face palmed. Of course Loki would have been the one to tell complete strangers all about him.

"Loki and I became great friends. We still drink together every now and then, but anyway he brought you up in a conversation at the beginning of his senior year. Said you were his new roommate and even showed me a picture which is how I knew it was you yesterday." He fast walked over to the front registers and plucked a picture off of the board.

"He even gave a picture to me to put on our picture board." The man handed Jack a picture. It was a picture of Jack asleep on his bed in the dorm, which he wasn't even sure when Loki took. The picture was plucked from his hands and stuck back onto the board before he could do anything about it.

"Oh yes and since you are here I can guess that you want the job, yes?" Jack nodded and looked to the other in the room, were these to be his competition or something? The Santa man noticed where he was looking and laughed once more.

"Oh let me introduce you! I am Nicholas North, but you can just call me North. That beautiful woman over there," He pointed to the feather lady, who blushed and waved,

"Is my wife Toothiana, and that big lug over there is Phil." The giant man who looked like he could snap Jack in half sent him a particularly nasty look. North saw this and smiled.

"Don't worry about him, he couldn't hurt a fly!" At that moment Phil thought it best to smack a fly who had happened to fly to close to him. All of a sudden this job was looking less and less like a good idea.

"The bunny rabbit who hopped out of here earlier is our chef, but don't call him Bunny, he doesn't seem to like it." Jack nodded slowly, was everyone in this town weird or was it just these two shops?

"And if you would like, you could work here too." Just like Pitch, North pulled a paper out of seemingly no where and handed it to Jack.

"You would get minimum wage, $7.25 an hour and you would work from 9pm to 3am every day except Sunday." Jack was about to ask for a pen but was stopped when North pulled one out of the front of his red apron and handed it to him. Jack put the paper on a nearby table and was about to sign it when North stopped him.

"There is one more thing. No employee of The Christmas cafe can ever, under any circumstances, enter the All Hallows coffee shop." North's voice had taken on a tone that was eerily similar to Pitch's when he was talking about the 'baked goods' that Jack would have to make. Jack felt a knot of dread build up in his stomach.

"Why can't they go there?" North's eyes seemed to flash red at the question, but Jack figured it must have been the reflection of one of the Christmas lights in the room.

"Why? You ask why? Everyone who works there is scum! The Black family is nothing but thieving vermin!" North had began shouting and Toothiana stepped forward to calm him down.

"Well besides that, we would love to have you as an employee sweetheart." Toothiana had a mellow voice that made him think of mothers in cartoons. He briefly wondered if Tooth had any children. Jack looked down at the paper desperately. He needed both of the jobs if he was going to be able to pay off these loans, but if North found out he worked over there...Jack signed the paper, it was either this or be in horrible debt after college. How would he ever get the money for his own bakery if he was up to his ears in debt?

"Well Jack I'm glad you are joining us. You will start tomorrow! We will see you then, yes?"

"Yes sir." With his stomach feeling like lead, he exited the store and got in his car. Unaware that another pair of eyes watched him leave the store. The golden eyes narrowed and darkened to the point that they almost blended into the shadows around them. He would have to see what this was all about.


	4. Accident prone

Jack drove home that night warily. The feeling in his stomach still hadn't gone away even though he was miles away from both of the shops. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he stepped down harder on the gas pedal. He needed to back to the dorms and talk to Loki, he would know more about this than he would. Jack didn't know what to do. He needed both jobs, and both bosses were scary. Heck Jack knew he could have just not signed that paper and ran out of that cafe before anyone could stop him. He unbuckled his seat belt, beginning to feel crowded in the small car. He didn't know why he was getting so worked up, the worst North could do was fire him if he found out. Jack felt a little better as he began to think about it. North seemed like a nice guy anyway, he would understand Jack's situation if he ever found out. That is if he ever found out. Jack wasn't planning on telling him any time soon. Jack felt his tense shoulders relax slightly and he came out of his thoughts, deciding to focus on the road rather than his problems. Jack looked ahead and screamed. Another car had veered over to his side of the road. Jack yanked the steering wheel as far over as he could and swerved off of the road and into a ditch. The sudden stop after going so fast down the road throwing him forward into the dash board of the car.

The other car continued down the otherwise empty road, swerving from side to side and not bothering to check and see if the person he just ran off the road was alright. Jack groaned and pushed himself back into the seat. Black spots were dancing on the edge of his vision and he shook his head. He felt like everything was moving in slow motion, and a faint buzzing sound was making itself known. He opened the car door and let his legs out, he was becoming increasingly aware of a burning pain that was coming from his knee. Looking down he saw that red was splattered on knee and several pieces of glass had lodged themselves into his knee. The black spots were increasing in numbers and Jack felt the beginnings of panic set in. All previous worries behind him he grabbed his phone from the console of the car and dialed for Loki. Their college was only about a ten minute drive from the road they were on and Loki was usually home by this time of the night, he just hoped that he was back in the dorm now.

On the third ring Loki picked up his phone.

"Jack! Do you have any idea what time it is? You have class at six in the morning! I know you're a freshman and think you can take on anythi-" Loki would have gone on ranting like a worried sibling but Jack stopped him.

"Loki, I need your help, there was an accident.."

"ACCIDENT!" Loki shouted. despite how loud Loki had yelled, Jack could barely hear him. The buzzing had gotten louder and Jack was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Where are you Jack?"

"A little down Dawson's road.."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, are you OK? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Jack nodded but then remembered that Loki couldn't see him.

"I-I'm fine, just get here." Loki hung up and Jack put the phone down, he felt a headache forming and pressed his hands to his face. He massaged his temples but something was off.. He felt something on his hands, something warm and sticky. He pulled his hands back down and looked to see what had gotten on his hands. From under the car door light he could see what was on his hands as clear as day. His hands were covered in blood.

Loki hung up with Jack and pulled up another number on his phone. The receiver answered immediately.

"Loki you idiot, is there a reason you're calling me this late?" The voice was irritated and sounded as if it had just woken up.

"Pitch, I need a favor."

"Favor? I did your father a favor by letting you work here for three years and now you want another favor!" Loki winced, this might not be as easy as he had hoped.

"No this is an emergency. I need you to bring some..bakery ingredients up to Dawson's road. You're only about ten minutes away from there. Jack was in an accident. He sounded okay on the phone, but he's phoning me to come pick him up so he can't be to well and-"

"ENOUGH! I'll be there in ten minutes. But this is the last favor your family will call upon from me." Loki let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and ran to the parking lot. He needed to go and help Jack.

Loki found the car and immediately felt uneasy. The car door was wide open and the front windshield was cracked even though the car wasn't rammed into anything. He stopped his car and got out without even taking the keys out of the ignition, he could see Pitch pulling up from Jack's side of the road and parking next to his car. Loki ran across the road and to the ajar door. The closer he got to the car the easier it was to see that a pair of legs were hanging vertically out of the open door. He had never felt more afraid than at that moment but he forced himself to look inside the car.

Jack was laying vertically in the car. His back was against the console and his head was tilted back, and Loki could see that he had gravely underestimated the accident. Jack's face was covered in blood and his pants were painted with it. His face was cut up and a dark bruise was forming on the top of his head. A long gash was spread across his forehead and blood was seeping from it.

"Oh god, Pitch you've got to help!" Pitch sprinted over, Loki's voice had held enough urgency for him to realize something was wrong.

"You said you didn't think he was hurt! You idiot!" Pitch ran back to his car and grabbed a book.

"I think there's a spell in here that'll work. That medicinal powder only helps small things you imbecile!" Pitch flipped through the book as fast as he could, hoping that no cars would come down the road and see them.

"You've gotta help him, there's got to be- Oh my god he doesn't have a pulse!" Before Loki could start freaking out Pitch pushed him out of the way and pulled Jack from the car and onto the street. Pitch began to read from the battered old book.

"Fœnerabis exaltábis PRAESTRICTUS luna tua lux et potentia. Fœnerabis lucem tuam et salva animam novam hanc ab se tenet mortis." A blue glow surrounded Jack's body and he floated upwards. Loki watched in awe as the glow covered Jacks body entirely. As sudden as it began an even brighter light shown from Jack and both Pitch and Loki had to throw their arms up to protect their eyes. A large gust of air came from seemingly no where and threw them both to the ground. When they opened their eyes again, Jack was laying in the street, the glow was gone and everything was dark.

"That was not supposed to happen. It was a simple reanimation spell..." Pitch couldn't understand. His family had been involved with witch craft for generation, he had been learning his whole life, what had he done wrong? While Pitch was looking back at the spell, hoping to see where he had gone wrong Loki scrambled over to Jack.

Jack was as still as a board. There was no sign of life coming from him at all. Loki collapsed next to him and felt for a pul- Jack shot up and gasped for breath, nearly choking on it as he greedily gulped it in. Loki started to cry in relief, Jack was alive. Pitch looked on curiously, why had it taken so long to work?

"What happened?" Jack coughed as he tried to speak, his voice was coarse and sore. Jack was considerably pale, but Loki figured that it was because of how much blood he had lost. Loki grabbed Jack into a hug and was surprised how cold he was. Shivering Loki looked up at his roommates face and was about to respond, when he saw Jack's eyes. The once dark brown eyes were now a vibrant blue.


	5. Hugging iceburgs

Jack awoke with a startled gasp. He jolted upwards, unsure where he was. The last thing he could remember was finding blood on his hand and then everything was just a blur. He was laying in his bed, in his dorm. Although it seemed to be colder than usual, nothing else seemed to be different. He didn't even remember getting into bed last night... Had Loki came and picked him up? Jack got out of bed with no problem. From outside the window he could see it had snowed like crazy overnight and it was still snowing, although much lighter now. He stretched his arms overhead and walked over to the bathroom, although he didn't feel sore, he felt...Different. It made him just want a nice hot bath. Before he entered the bathroom he realized he had absolutely no idea what time it was. Thee sun was out which could only mean that it was way past six, when he had his first class of the day. He rummaged as quickly as he could through his nightstand and the surrounding counters for his phone but it was no where to be found.

"Dammit! I must have left it in my car." He grumbled, he must have left his phone in the car when Loki picked him up. Deciding to worry about that when Loki got back to the dorms, Jack headed off to the showers.

He gave an involuntary shiver as he stripped off his clothes. He was wearing the same clothes from yesterday which were bloodstained and torn to shreds by glass. Jack couldn't believe all the blood that was on his clothes. Taking off his shirt, he could see all the blood that stained it now. Where had all this blood come from? Jack looked patronizingly at the mirror, hoping it would give him some kind of insight into what all went on last night. Staring into his reflection, he couldn't believe it was him at first.

Instead of the brown eyes he had expected to see, bright dazzling blue ones were looking back at him. He stepped back in shock, but when the eyes stayed the same he moved back closer to the mirror. Other than his eyes, nothing seemed wrong. Absolutely nothing was wrong with his face, which scared Jack more than anything else possibly could have. Every scar he had ever obtained, any small blemishes he had had before had all disappeared. His skin was paler than what he remembered also. The color wasn't too different from his normally tawny skin color but it light enough for him notice the changes. What had happened last night? Even his amulet was different. It looked like the symbol had been broken and now it just looked like a long wooden hook.

Another shiver passed through him and he rubbed his arms together, breathing out deeply. A mist of cold air blew into the air. He was astounded, how could it have been so cold in the dorms? He could see his own breath for Christ's sake! Still shivering he turned on the shower, waiting impatiently for it to warm up. He stuck his hand in to test the water and gave a startled shriek. The water was like molten lava! He turned down the hot water and waited again, nursing his burned hand. A few moments later he tested out the water only to draw his hand back once more. The hot water was still scolding even though he had turned it down a considerable amount before. He turned up the cold water and tried to balance the two out. What was going on with him today? Finally, after turning the water down just a little more he stepped in. The water still felt hot, but he could bare it. After all, he supposed a shower that was too hot was better than a shower that was too cold. After washing up for a few minutes he felt much better, that is, until he turned the water off again. The cold feeling spread all around him and he almost fell down with the intensity that the frigid air had hit him with. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around him, hoping to find some kind of warmth from the soft fabric. He left the bathroom in search of clothes and was surprised to find Loki sitting over on his bed waiting for him. His surprise was only fleeting, as he soon remembered that he had been waiting for Loki as well.

"What happened last night?" Jack asked as he searched through the messy closet for something warm to put on. Loki tensed up. He had been expecting Jack to ask questions, and even though he had spent the whole day thinking up excuses he still had no idea what to say.

"Umm, well I just came and picked you up last night when you called. You were asleep when I got there, so me and Pitch got you loaded in the car..-" Loki felt sweat start to form on his face despite the chilly air that surrounded him.

"Pitch?" Jack queried turning around to face Loki with a blue sweatshirt hanging over his shoulder.

"What was Pitch doing there." Loki tried to keep from cursing and thought up a reason quickly. He was supposed to have kept Pitch out of this whole situation. Jack wasn't supposed to have remembered anything from the night before and he was supposed to keep it that way.

"Oh? Pitch was.. I had called him to come help with your car. He drove it back here and then after we brought you back I drove him back to his car." He supposed it wasn't all the way a lie. Pitch had helped him with Jack's car... Among other things.

"Thanks, I was wondering about my car. I left my phone in it." Jack let out a triumphant cry as he finally found what he had been searching for. A pair of brown jeans that were actually pajamas on the inside. Jack scurried into the bathroom to change. Looking at himself in the mirror once more, and the ruined clothes that he had tossed on the floor, Jack felt hundred of questions swim into his mind. He pushed them away for now though. Loki wouldn't lie to him about something to serious...Right? Jack shook his head. No way he wouldn't, Loki was his best friend and he would never lie to him. Besides what reason would he have to lie about something like that?

"So what time is it anyway?" Jack called from inside the bath room, hoping to take his mind off of his troubling thoughts. Loki looked over at the door, wishing silently that Jack wouldn't question him about last night anymore.

"It's almost three. That's why I came to get you up." Jack walked out of the bathroom and flopped onto his bed, finally glad to be in somewhat warm clothes. He still hadn't escaped the chilly air entirely though and pulled some socks from his nightstand.

"Why is it so freezing in here? I feel like I just hugged an iceberg!" Loki shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno, I guess it from all that cold weather we got last night. They must not have turned the heating up yet." Loki was glad that Jack had stopped asking questions. He was sure that he would never want to talk about last night again. If Pitch hadn't of came to his aid, Jack would have died and that was too terrible a thought for Loki to keep in his mind.

Jack walked over to the door, before turning back around.

"Do you have my keys?" Loki dug the keys out of his pocket and threw them to Jack.

"Thanks buddy. Oh and one more thing." Jack felt a smirk slide onto his face as he looked at Loki, the one who was usually doing the teasing.

"Next time you get drunk with a crazy Russian Santa, try and refrain from bringing me into the conversation." He left the dorm and headed out to his car, missing the way the color fled from Loki's face.

Loki watched the door shut in horror. There was only one person that could have fit the description 'Russian Santa' and Loki wouldn't even be caught dead in the same room as scum like that. Loki felt the breath leave his body and he grasped as his phone desperately. If Nicholas North had contacted Jack, then the youthful cook was in more far danger than he could have ever thought. He had to inform Pitch before Jack got himself involved with the wrong crowd. He dialed for Pitch but his answering machine picked up after one ring. Pitch had declined his call. Determined to help his friend Loki listened to Pitch's message, waiting for his time to record.

"Hello, you've reached the Phone of Pitchner Black. Either I'm not available to take your call at the moment or you're Loki. If the latter, then I told you no more favors so stop calling me." Loki huffed in annoyance and hung up. He would just have to warn Jack himself then.


	6. Zigazig ha

Jack found his car covered in a fluffy pile of snow and parked next to a graffiti-ed wall. It had taken him a while to figure out where Pitch had parked it but a few car alarms later he found his little Grey pregnant roller skate, but he was relieved when he finally did. What bothered him though, was that the windshield was not broken. He specifically remembered all the glass that had fallen onto him, where had it come from then. The glass was perfectly in tact with no sign of impact anywhere visible to him. His white eyebrows furrowed and he stared intently at the car, as if willing it to tell him what happened.

His intent stare was broken by a cold wetness dropping onto his nose. His eyes widened in surprise before he let out a laugh. He stuck his tongue out and caught a snowflake on his tongue. He stared in amazement at the little snowflake. It just sat there, not melting like he had fully expected it to. He felt another bubble of laughter pull itself out of his mouth and for the first time since his...accident several years ago he felt like jumping into the snow and dancing around.

Before he could do just that, his phone began to ring. He could hear the incessant buzzing from his place outside the car and began to laugh again. He turned the keys into the door and pulled it open. Jumping inside he picked up his phone and glanced at the caller I.D. A picture of Loki wearing a sombrero popped up on the screen next to a green phone symbol. Jack shrugged and hit decline, tossing the phone into the passenger seat. Loki could wait for a minute, Jack only had twenty six minutes to get to work, and he wanted to spend them singing along to the radio. After turning on the car he jammed up the radio, rolled down the windows and drove off.

Pitch gazed out the coffee shops window with gobsmacked look on his face. Jack had pulled up just a block before the shop and Pitch heard him before he saw him.

"If ya' wanna be my lover, you gotta' get with my friends!" He watched him turn off his car and do a little dance, still singing although the music was off.

"Make it last forever, friendship never ends!" He hit the high note with no difficulty at all, Walking with a spring in his step the whole way to the shops door. The restaurant wasn't as busy now, seeing as it was Tuesday. They always had less business on Tuesdays and Pitch for the life of him could never figure out why. The quiet chitter chatter in the shop made it all to much easier to hear Jack singing. Jack had switched from the spice girls to whistling Christmas tunes. Jack opened the door with a bright smile.

"Hiya boss!" He practically chirped in greeting. Pitch briefly wondered if that spell had messed up more than just Jack's eyes, before shaking off the thought.

'Unfortunately', thought Pitch

'People are allowed to be happy every now and then.' He shook his head at his newest employee.

"This is not the Christmas Cafe, why are you whistling Christmas tunes?" He crossed his arms to further his point. Something crossed Jack's eyes but was gone before he could decipher what it had been. Jack gave a hearty laugh,

"Sorry, just got caught up in the winter spirit!" Jack couldn't seem to stop moving around so he strode over to Pitch,

"So what am I doing today?" His eagerness to work made Pitch feel a little uneasy. He had never seen someone look so happy to work in a cafe in his entire life.

"Yes...Well today will be the same as yesterday. The only baked goods needing to be distributed, I made this morning." Jack nodded and made his way past Pitch, and to the counter. Pitch shivered when an unexpected draft of cold air breezed by him. Jack stood behind the register, looking like a puppy that was waiting to be thrown a bone.

Pitch sighed. Why couldn't he ever have a normal employee, first that snake; Loki, and now some Christmas obsessed weirdo who couldn't drive. He glanced once more at Jack before walking back into his office, at least this explained why he had seen Jack walking out of 'the Christmas cafe' last night. Just when he thought the guy might have been just a little normal, he turns out to be walking in a metaphorical winter wonderland.

While Pitch was in his office, Jack stood his post with a goofy smile on his face. Soon enough, his first customer walked up. Although this guy was already in the shop. The man he had seen in the shop yesterday that was dressed in all yellow, typing away at his computer walked up to the counter.

He was wearing yellow jacket and mustard colored pants, clearly he had no fashion sense.

Standing much taller than Jack the man sneered disdainfully at Jack before moving his hands in very fast motions. Clearly he was not expecting Jack to know sign language.

"Umm yeah, I can get that ready for ya'!" Either Jack hadn't noticed the mean look the man had shot at him or he just didn't care to acknowledge it because he kept his voice as cheerful as he could. The mustard man looked surprised before moving his hands again, the sneer falling off of his face.

'You can understand sign language?' He signed out. Jack nodded as he prepared the man his mocha monster frappe.

"Yeah, my baby sister was born deaf so I had to learn it to speak with her." Jack explained sitting the latte on the counter.

"That'll be three o' six, mister." Mustard man pulled out a four and stared at Jack in wonder. Most kids his age thought it was cool to learn foreign languages like French, or German. It was a wonder to find a place where he didn't have to write down his order. Jack handed him his change and thanked him for ordering. The man grinned at him before signing once more.

'What is your name?' Jack laughed, glad that the man had gotten out of his bad attitude.

"I'm Jack Frost! What's yours?" Mustard man blushed and asked for a piece of paper. Jack handed him a post-it and a pen. The man wrote quickly and with a wobbly hand before handing it to Jack. The post-it read: 'My name's Sanderson Mansnoozie, but you can call me Sandy.'

Jack beamed up Sandy, looking delighted to make a new friend.

"Nice to meet you Sandy!" Sandy did a mock bow before walking back to his table with his ice cold frappe in hand. He was surprised at how cold it was, usually it was already starting to melt by the time it was handed to him. He shrugged his shoulders and decided not to question his luck.

Several more customers came and went in his time at the register but none of them were very talkative. Several girls had tried flirting with him but he didn't have the heart to tell them he didn't swing their way. By the time his shift had ended Pitch still hadn't left his office and Sandy was still typing, obviously unaware of the time. Jack began to make his way over to Sandy just as Pitch exited his office.

Pitch watched Jack approach Sandy in horror. He stood still, unable to warn Jack about the man's disastrous temper. Pitch treated the scene like a train crash, he wanted to look away but he just kept staring. Jack tapped Sandy on the shoulder, yawning a bit as he did so. Sandy looked up with a glare on his face that could kill, but realizing it was only Jack he offered a smile.

"Hey Sandy, it's time to close up shop." Jack explained, treating Sanderson like he was an old friend he had know for years. Sandy looked down at the time on his computer a hand flew up to his face in shock. He had never stayed here so long, he had just gotten so caught up in his writing that he hadn't even realized how late it had gotten. While he saved his work and logged off his laptop, Jack looked on in awe.

"Wow, so are you like a writer?" Sandy smiled at the genuine interest Jack seemed have in his work. Sandy nodded, his blonde hair bobbing along with him.

'I'm in the middle of a fantasy children's novel at the moment actually.' He signed enthusiastically. Pitch looked on in amazement. The last time he had worked the register, Sanderson had glared at him the whole time and angrily shoved his order at him. Now Sandy seemed to be having a nice conversation with Jack while they walked towards the door. Pitch joined them at the door.

"So you'll be here tomorrow then?" Jack asked, getting a head bob in return as Sandy made his way down the street.

"Well, seems you had a good day today then?" Pitch questioned, smirking over at Jack.

"Yeah, and I'm sure tomorrow will be even better!" Jack responded with more energy than anyone should have after a six hour shift. Pitch walked over to his car and paused to see if Jack would walk over to Nicholas' shop again, but Jack got strait into his car not even sparing the other cafe a glance.

Jack jumped into his car and grabbed his phone. He would feel safer if he had it with him at least, just in case North had found out he worked over at Pitch's shop too. Pitch drove off and Jack stepped out of his car, checking the messages on his phone. He had four missed calls and five new texts, all from Loki.

He frowned. Why would Loki try contacting him this much? Had something happened? Jack checked the text and grew steadily concerned.

'Jack call me.'

'Jack, I need to talk with you.'

'Call me.'

'Watch yourself. Call me.' Deciding he could be a few minutes late, Jack dialed Loki's number.

"Jack! I needed to tell you don't liste-" Loki's voice ended abruptly and Jack stared down at his phone in confusion. His phone had gone black and the battery sign was flashing red.

"Great, just what I needed." He threw his phone back in the car and locked the door, tightening the strings on his hoodie as he made his way across the street and towards the ever flashing green and red of the Christmas cafe.


	7. Rivalry

Jack walked into the cafe and pulled down his hoodie, the bells jingling to signal his arrival. He expected North to greet him like the day before but three of the other people who worked there seemed to be busy with something. Bunnymund, North, and Toothiana were all gathered around a table in the middle of the room, pointing at something and arguing about it.

"No, we did that last year. He will expect that now."

"Maybe we can put something in his drinks to make his teeth turn yellow!"

"Naw mate. We need to use carrots this year!"

"Bunny will you knock it off, no one is going along with your carrot obsession!"

"Don't call me bunny! I'll freakin' curse you, I swear on me mum!"

Jack could see that this was escalating very quickly, but before he could decide to escape before he was noticed, North realized he was there.

"Jackie boy! Good to see you! You can start today by sweeping up the floors. Broom and dust pan are over by the counter." Jack nodded and walked over to pick it up. As soon as he started sweeping up the floors, the trio started talking again.

"We have to think of something good tonight. That Shadow loving boogeyman is probably already formulating evil plans as we speak." North kept his voice controlled but by his tone, Jack could tell he was furious.

"Nicholas, honey, why don't we just ask Jack for help? He might have some fresh ideas." Tooth put a comforting hand on North's shoulder and he nodded slowly. Jack stiffened and tried to act like he hadn't heard them. There was no way he was getting pulled into whatever got them arguing earlier, that was totally not his fight. It seemed however, that luck was not on his side this night.

"Jack, could you come over here a moment." Jack sighed and set the broom down.

"Yes sir?" Bunnymund put a hand on his hip and ran an annoyed hand through his spiky black hair.

"Yes ask the newbie ou' doesn't even know about the rivalry!" he spat, disdain dripping from his voice.

"What rivalry?" Asked Jack, who stepped closer to the table. Looking down he saw several pictures of Pitch's restaurant lined up, along with a map and the blueprints of what he could only guess was the All Hallows coffee house. What was going on here? North's eyes narrowed dangerously and he stepped up intimidatingly towards Jack. Stabbing a fat finger at jacks chest he started to explain.

"Thirty years ago. When my grandmother started up this cafe, Pitch's grandfather started up his. They were both bakeries at the time, and business was booming. The two shops were always in a competition, until one day Pitch's grandfather took it too far." North was shaking with rage, and Jack was tempted to take a step back from the scary Santa. In fear that movement might set him off, Jack stood still.

"My grandmother had finally perfected 'cake' recipe and Kosmotis Black, thieving bastard he was, stole it!" Before Jack could think too much about why North had used air quotations around the word 'cake', North continued.

"They battle it out for weeks before they made 'truce'. Deciding it would be much better for business if they contained their fighting to one month a year. That month would be now. Tomorrow will be the first of December and we need to make sure that Pitch Black knows it." North's eyes were glowing red and Jack was sure this time that it was no reflection. Toothiana tapped North's shoulder as soon as she saw what Jack was focused on.

"Ahem, North darling...Eyes!" North looked at her in confusion before gasping!

"Oh!" He blinked and just like that his eyes were back to their normal baby blue. Jack didn't know what to think other than everyone in this whole freaking town was insane.

"Anyway Jack, can you think of anyway we can remind Pitch that it's that time of year?" North was back to his friendly self again and Jack could only stare in amazement, did North have some kind of personality disorder?

Even if Jack had wanted to answer in that moment he wouldn't have been able to because Bunnymund literally hopped over to North,

"I know what! We could put poison in all his coffee so that it kill everyone and he has to go to prison." Everyone stopped and stared at Bunnymund, the cafe becoming so quiet that crickets could be heard. It was the start of winter, and it was snowing outside and crickets could be heard. Bunnymund felt a hot blush rise to his face and he gave a nervous laugh.

"Haha, we could do that but we are definitely not going to do that, because that would be wrong." Deciding to avoid making this situation even more awkward, North set his hands on Jack's shoulders to ask him what they should do only to draw them back in surprise. Jack was freezing cold!

"Jack do you feel alright?" He asked, concerned for his newest employee. Had Pitch found out about his newest little employee and decided to curse him before he could do any damage?

"Yeah, why?" North would have responded, if he hadn't been struck with a sudden idea. Jack was cold...And cold was just what they needed! North gave Jack an insane smile

"Jack, vould you mind doing us ...Favor?" Jack gulped and responded in a slightly wavering voice.

"Uhmm, yeah... sure."

"You can't back out once you agree. Are you sure Jack?" North gave Jack his best puppy dog eyes, which just made him look like he tried to superglue his eyelids to keep them open. Jack hesitated, but only for a moment. What could North ask of him that could be so bad? The man ran a Christmas themed cafe for heavens sake!

"Yeah, no problamo boss." He flashed a small smile at North which was eagerly returned.

"Good. We are going to need you to sneak into the All Hallows coffee house and leave this in there." North had said it so calmly that Jack wasn't sure he heard it right at first, but there North was, pushing an envelope addressed to Pitch at him. Eyes widening Jack tried to get out of the situation calmly. He furrowed his brow and looked up at the giant Russian that towered over him. Taking on a look of childlike confusion he said,

"But sir, I thought you said we weren't allowed to go over there?" He looked up at North with bright blue doe eyes. North looked at Jack intently, hadn't his eyes been brown before? He shook his head and grinned. No it must have just been the lighting.

"Ah ha! We make exception for this." Jack's palms started to sweat, he had expected that to work. Drat, it seemed that once you got out of high school the 'cute face' trick didn't work anymore. The temperature in the room dropped and Jack tried to think up a reason not to go.

"Well... How am I supposed to get in, do you have a key?" North nodded and held out the palm of his hand.

"Use this." Jack stared mutely down at the giant paw.

"That is a bobby pin."

"Yes." North nodded, smiling at Jack like he was asking him to go pick flowers.

"But isn't this illegal?" Jack questioned, his voice squeaking in panic. North just looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"Why would a bobby pin be illegal?" Bunnymund started laughing and had to walk into the kitchen to avoid upsetting North. Despite the location change, Bunny's loud guffaws could be heard from the streets if you listened hard enough.

North handed Jack the bobby pin and pushed him to the door.

"Don't worry so much frosty, just think of it as part of job!" Jack pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the snowy street, North's joyous laughter sounding much darker through the glass. Jack looked at the dark shop that sat across the street before taking his first step.

'After this,' thought Jack, 'I should really re-evaluate my life choices'


	8. Break-in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack picks a lock and Loki makes a call

Jack hesitantly made his way across the empty road. It was almost ten o'clock and the area looked like a ghost town. He looked around hoping that anyone would be out so he wouldn't have to break into the shop. The streets however remained bare and despite the snow that was beginning to fall, Jack felt extraordinarily hot. He tugged off his hoodie but that seemed to do nothing to change the temperature. The snowfall had become heavier and as he approached the outside of the coffee shop he could see that a thin layer of snow had built up on top of his car now. He threw his hoodie on to the car's hood, and was about to walk up to All Hallow's door when he got a strange urge. The snow looked so cold and without further ado he scooped up a hand full of it and pressed it to his face. Almost at once the snow cooled his face, and just like before he left for work, the snow didn't melt. Before he could ponder this oddity the reason he was out here surfaced again in his mind. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and dropped the snow to the concrete. He looked back over to the darkened windows of the coffee shop and with more determination than he actually felt, stepped over to the door.

The door itself was the same as much of the ones the shops that lined the street, but this one had an odd old keyhole. Rust had made it's way around the edges and it looked somewhat like a triangle with a circle attached to the top. Jack pulled out the bobby-pin and gave it a curious look, how in the world was he supposed to pick a lock? He had only heard a few time 'how' and that was just his friends from high school mentioning something about hearing clicks. He turned to see if North was still watching him and just as expected, North and Tooth were watching his every move through the shop's window.

"Well, might as well try this." With low hopes, Jack kneeled on the sidewalk and pressed his ear to the door. With a steady hand he inserted the bobby-pin and unsure what to do, jiggled it in the lock. To his surprise he heard several clicks in procession and the a final much louder click. Bewildered, Jack pushed the door and watched it open slightly. He had done it. He had somehow managed to pick a lock and now he was sneaking into Pitch's shop... He was sneaking into Pitch's shop. It had taken until now for his brain to actually process that he was breaking the law. He was breaking and entering, but he needed this job. Even if he was still going to be in debt next year at least he would be less in debt than if he hadn't had the job. Breathing in the cold air he took a step forward, clutching the package in hand and stepped into the dark shop, not noticing the trails of ice that surrounded the lock.

"Pitch!" After Jack's phone call had ended unexpectedly Loki had wasted no time in trying to get a hold of Pitch. However when call after call went unanswered, Loki decided that he would have to change up his methods. Leaping off of his bed and to the door he flung it open and nearly flew into the hallway. It was just his luck that someone was making their way down the hall way at this time. He ran up to the darkly dressed man with the ferociousness of a full grown lion.

"Your phone! Can I see your phone? It's an emergency!" He yelled, his voice becoming higher.

The man looked shocked but mutely nodded his head and reached into his pocket. Loki snatched up the phone and dialed the number he now knew by heart. It answered after three slow rings.

"Pitch! Don't hang up, it's an emergency! I think they are after Jack!" Pitch who had been about to push 'end call' the moment he heard Loki's voice, paused a moment, his eyes widening in shock.

"What do you mean they're after him? He's only been working here for two days! How would they even know that I have a new worker!" He shouted angrily. The man who owned the phone looked over frantically; He could hear the man on the other end of the call from where he was standing!

"He said it today, he told me 'Next time you get drunk with a Russian santa try not to mention me' There's only one 'Russian Santa' I know Pitch and I would never even look in his direction. Why do they know about him. And then he called when he was leaving your shop and, and his phone cut off mid word and I couldn't tell him to stay away from them-"

"Loki." Pitch cut him off with a dark and steady voice.

"What is today's date?" Loki quickly looked over to the man beside him,

"What's today's date?" The dark clothed man looked up at Loki with bright green eyes,

"Umm, it's the 30th." Loki felt fear clench at his heart. What better way to let Pitch know it was time for their yearly rivalry than to hurt his new worker, after all it's what they had done to him.

"You don't think they would do that again do you?" His voice cracked and his hand was shaking. Pitch paused for a few moments to figure out what would be best to say and a car could be heard starting up in the background.

"I'm heading to the shop right now. He will be fine, don't worry." The call ended and Loki stared at the phone numbly before handing it back to the man with a quick thanks. Making his way back to the dorm, he stepped in and shut the door behind him soon after. When the green eyed man from before passed by the dorm room, all that could be heard from inside way a muffled hissing sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN- Wow sorry it's been so long since I've updated but you know, stuff happens. Also sorry this chapter is so short but that's only because I'm running out of time and I have all my other stories to update. Another chapter will be out super soon because I know exactly what's going to happen(JK I don't but I have an idea what's going to go down) So what do you all think of the story so far?


	9. The deception?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> E. Aster Bunnymund hears a conversation and it raises questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I'm supposed to have a beta reader but he/she hasn't gotten on today and I didn't want them to get on and be upset that I uploaded without getting this beta'd by them before I did. This chapters up only on Archive for now, until it gets beta'd. Also sorry that this doesn't jump right into Jack's dilemma but this story will also be Jackrabbit and right now I'm setting up that little plot.

"Crazy ankle-biter." Grumbled E. Aster Bunnymund as he watched Jack from the window, he was playing with the snow on the hood of his car. Rolling his shoulders and cracking the knuckles in his hands he took a step back from the wide window. North followed him with sharp blue eyes.

"Leaving already Aster?" North inquired, shifting his body so he could see both his nephew and his new employee. Aster shrugged his shoulders,

"Yeah, I've got classes in the mornin' an I'm beat." North gave the tall man a small, sad smile, which was so unlike the normally jovial man that Aster had to do a double take.

"I am glad you came back." Aster felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a weary smile that seemed to take him too much effort to keep up as it slid slowly off his face like rain down a window.

"It's good to be back." Although his voice suggested that he wasn't quite sure that was true. Tooth managed to detract her face from the window long enough to say:

"See ya' tomorrow!" And then she was back to watching Jack again, 'Although.' Thought Aster rather reluctantly, 'I suppose he's not that hard to look at.' Before he could think about the snow haired boy anymore, he tapped he right foot twice and disappeared into thin air.

 

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Aster appeared in the back of an empty parking lot right outside of Virginia state university. Only one street light was on in the area and even that one was flickering, Aster paid it no heed anyone who tried to attack him would be in for a rude awakening. Stifling a yawn with his rather large hand he started shuffling towards the dormitories. He only appeared outside of the college because his roommate would probably be in the dorm now and he was too tired to be bothered by some weak-willed runt who was straight outta high school wanting to know how he just appeared in the room.

He was unfortunate enough to have the room at the very end of the first floors hallway, it meant he would have to walk even more once he got into the building before he could collapse on his bed and go to sleep. He pulled the doors to the dormitory open and slipped in, delighted by how warm it felt compared to the biting winds outside.

He was halfway down the hall when a door shot open and a tall, pale man came bustling out. Aster stepped forward to see if he could just ignore the man and get around him but his movement just attracted the mans attention. The dark-haired man prowled up to him with flashing eyes. Aster thought for a moment that the man was going to try to hit him but then he stopped just before he reached him.

"You're phone! Can I see your phone? It's an emergency!" Aster stared blankly at the distraught man before sliding his hand into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The man snatched it out of his hand before he even had the chance to hand it to him and began furiously dialing.

The began dialing and when the receiver didn't answer immediately the man began to tap his foot impatiently. Just when Aster thought the man was about to wear a hole in the carpet, the phone picked up.

"Pitch, don't hang up, it's an emergency! I think they are after Jack!" Aster felt his stomach clinch. This was one of them. There was no way it could be just a coincidence that someone name Pitch and someone named Jack would be mentioned right in front of him at the same time, especially not when they just hired someone named Jack.

"What do you mean they're after him? He's only been working here for two days, how would they even know that I have a new worker!" A dark and dangerous voice shouted from the phone. Aster was beyond shocked. Pitch wasn't a common name and... what were the odds that someone named pitch owned a shop and had a new worker named Jack, and they weren't Pitcher Black? But wait, if Pitch had a worker named Jack who had only been working there for two days then... Aster's mind was reeling.

"He said it today, he told me 'Next time you get drunk with a Russian Santa try not to mention me' There's only one 'Russian Santa' I know Pitch and I would never even look in his direction. Why do they know about him. And then he called when he was leaving your shop and, and his phone cut off mid word and I couldn't tell him to stay away from them-" The man in front of him was becoming even more upset but Aster couldn't find it in him to care now, he was too caught up on the fact that Jack was a double agent. He was a spy, sent over by Pitch. Now Pitch probably already knew to expect that package, Pitch had an inside man in the field now.

"Loki." The voice was so commanding and loud in the silence of the hallway that it made Aster look up. Aster furrowed his brow in thought. Loki...Where had he heard that name before?

"What's today's date?" It took a moment for Aster to realize that this Loki fellow was talking to him.

"Uhm, it's the 30th." They should know that. It's the day before the annual battle.

"I'm heading to the shop right now. He will be fine, don't worry." Aster held his breath as Loki handed him the phone, the dark-haired man's green eyes flashed with fear and his skin paled as he walked away.

"Thank you." He called quietly to Aster, before slipping back into his dorm. Aster kept walking for a moment just in case Loki came back out for some reason. When he passed Loki's dorm room, all he could hear was hissing. 'Ah,' thought Aster in realization, 'Loki. The snake North was talking about.'

He took a calming breath before tapping his foot again and disappearing.

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Aster appeared right behind North, who was watching Pitch's shop with an expression like steel.

He hesitated in telling him about Jack. Pitch was on the way to the shop and would catch Jack in the act, it wasn't like that would matter as Jack works for Pitch. Pitch probably had this whole thing planned out already and alerting North to his presence might be just part of his plan to with this years coffee shop battle. Looking out the window he could clearly see that Jack was already in the other shop. There wasn't really anything they could do now if he told them, Aster weighed down his options quickly and came to the conclusion that if they let Jack think that they didn't know he was working for Pitch they could lull him into a false sense of security much quicker. Besides it would be nice to have a spy in Pitch's shop, even if they wouldn't bea spy willingly. Aster smirked and stepped beside North.

"So where's the little ankle-biter now?" Jack wouldn't know what hit him.


	10. Clippity-clop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack breaks into the shop and gets a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to Chicacchironi for drawing that totally awesome fanart for this!! I loved it soo much! I wouldn't have gotten this chapter out so quick if it hadn't been for you! 
> 
> Also wonderful people if you like this story why don't you follow it's tumblr page? http://battle-of-the-coffee-shops.tumblr.com/  
> You can also ask the characters questions and I would really appreciate that! It takes 30 second to ask and you can ask any character. I might even give away spoilers if you ask! (As long as they're not TOO big.

Jack regretted ever entering the coffee shop. The place that was so warm and lively in the daytime was one of the eeriest places he had ever visited at night-time. He cursed himself for not bringing something to use as a light. It was, excuse the pun, pitch black and the silence that surrounded him was deafening. The prickling sensation that developed on the back of his neck when he entered the shop hadn't gone away yet, in fact it seemed to have intensified. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on edge and despite the fact that the shop was seemingly devoid of life, Jack knew he was not alone. The air was thick and even though the street lamp outside was directly facing the shop's window, no light made it into the building. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw something moving from within the darkness. Jack spun around, clutching the package tightly to his chest.

Nothing was there. Jack's palms felt sweaty against the package despite the low temperature around him. His heart pounded hard against his chest, nothing was there. The movement seemed to have moved to behind him now and he could feel something drifting right against his sweater. He froze in fear, the thing behind him seemed to grow even larger and now it's hulking presence was now pressing up against his neck. It was slimy and sandy all at the same time. It felt like...He didn't know how to describe the feeling it gave him. He felt like the all the hope was being drained out of him, like he was back under that cold, cold water. His sister trying to scream out for help, but no sound coming out of her mouth, or at least none that he could hear. The water had blocked out everything.

The creature behind him moved back, preparing for an attack, but the absence of that terrible feeling, even if just for a moment gave Jack just enough time to lunge forward and on to the cold, white tile. The creature let out a low hiss and Jack could hear something charging towards him, their hooves clapping down hard on the tile. A strangled scream leapt from his throat as the creature drew closer. He threw the package over himself, cowering behind the only thing he had that he could use to defend himself. Clenching his eyes shut and pressing himself even farther into the floor he prepared himself for the oncoming attack. Just as the monster leapt, a bright light filled the air. The package in his hand burned like a hot stove and he shoved the offending object to the floor beside him. Snapping open his eyes and scrambling back from where he was sure the creature would be by now Jack looked over with wide eyes as he realized that there was absolutely nothing there. Black sand littered the floor, that was the only clue he had that that had actually just happened. He reached over with shaky, hands that were intent on delivering the package and high-tailing it out of there as fast as he could. When he gripped the brown package however, he bit back a gasp and drew back his hands. Turing them to their palms he was shocked to see red blisters on his fingers where he had been holding the package. They looked red and angry, but how could the package have burned him? It was fine until whatever had been in here had attacked. Jack shook his head and tired to clear all these thoughts out of his head. He just wanted out of this shop.

Using the backs of his hands he manged to get a grip on the package, which seemed heavier now for some reason. As quick as he could be without running Jack made it to the cash register and dropped the package down next to it. There was no way he was going anywhere near Pitch's office, especially if there was a chance that more of those...Things were in there. Besides, he didn't think he would be able to grip the door handle anyway. The door was probably locked anyway and there was no way he could maneuver the bobby pin around with his hands burning like they were. Fanning his hands with the cold air from the room, he made his way to the exit. Pushing open the door he gave an audible sigh of relief as the snowy wind caressed his skin.

A low and angry snort came from behind him, Jack felt that paralyzing fear wash over him again and with slow movements he turned around to face the darkness.

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North, Toothiana and Aster all watched as Jack made his way out of the darkened building. Relief was so clear on his features that they could make it out even from their place across the street. Aster scoffed, of course the white-haired traitor would make it out of Pitch's shop unscathed. Pitch wouldn't want his poor, new worker injured on his property, after all Workman's comp was murder to the pocketbook. North however did not share the tan man's attitude, if anything, he looked like he was about to start flying around the room from happiness.

"Ooh I have good feeling in belly about this year, We will win!" He exclaimed giving his wife a celebratory kiss. Toothiana was jumping with excitement, her multicolored dress was swirling and her earrings were dangling around like air fresheners hanging in a car. In fact they were probably big enough to pass off as air fresheners.

It was Bunnymund who first looked back over to Jack, and Bunnymund who realized that this wasn't going to end quite as well as he believed it would. A well-built nightmare was pawing the ground right behind Jack, shadows spilling out around it.

Jack's face was pale enough to be used as a lighthouse beacon and his face was frozen in a mask of horror.

"North, Look a nightmare's behind him!" Aster shouted, drawing the other man's attention away from his wife.

"Man-in-moon! We won't be able to get there in time!" Tooth fluttered by the door, but even she was unsure if she would be able to take on a nightmare without the right spells at the ready. Before North and Aster could run outside, The nightmare attacked.

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Jack barely had time to lock eyes with the golden eyed beast when it pounced, biting out with sharp, sandy teeth. Jack pushed back with his arms, ignoring the sting from his hand in favor of not getting mauled to death by something that shouldn't even exist. The shadowy horse bit at his arm, but he luckily only bit off a piece of his sleeve. Jack shuddered, that had been much to close to not being his sleeve. Jack's push knocked the horse off-balance, who clearly wasn't expecting Jack to fight back so much. Jack saw a red light that he hadn't noticed before shining in a corner as he looked up towards the nightmare but seeing as the Nightmare was just now getting steady he took that time to sprint to his car. He had left the door unlocked and never had he been so happy he had done so before. He threw the door open and fell into the seat, pulling his legs away from the door and shutting it again. He turned the car on and sped off as fast as he could, his hands gripping the steering wheel as tightly as he could. He was glad for the rush of adrenalin that was still pumping through his body because otherwise his hands would be unmovable in pain.

Jack was too focused on escaping this town as fast as he could, but if he had looked into his driver's mirror he would have seen a strange gold light coming from Bunnymund and North's hands and hitting the Nightmare. Jack didn't calm down one bit until he was out of that town and safe on the busy highway. Driving slower now, and using only his unburned palms to drive, Jack began to think through what had just occurred. He knew that that horse thing definitely wasn't there when he walked in or when he exited so he had no idea where it had hidden, or what exactly it was. It was made of sand and it's eyes...Jack shuddered at the thought of them, they were feral and dangerous, he never wanted to see those yellow eyes ever again. Then there was the package that burned his hand even though there were no scorch marks on the package itself, Jack was sure there had to be some logical explanation for all this. Finally, Jack's thoughts traveled to that last strange thing that he had seen; The red light in the corner. He hadn't noticed it before when he was in the shop, in fact, the only thing that had been in that corner when he was there for work was-. Jack slammed the brakes and nearly caused the person behind him to ram into the back of his car. Ignoring the cursing from the car behind him, Jack finally processed what he had seen in the corner and when he realized what it was he felt like pulling over and puking out everything he had eaten today. His hands were shaking and he felt like he couldn't breath. In the corner of the shop was a security camera.


	11. A strange occurrence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Chicacchironi again for drawing such amazing fan-art!  
> Oh and to all the others reading this don't forget that you can always follow the battle of the coffee shop's tumblr if you want to get insiders info and things like that. Love u all and sorry this chapters not that good.

Pitch gripped the steering wheel tight. Grey hands clenched against the material and dug their finely cut nails into the sides. His amber eyes watched the road like a hawk and his foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal.

The moment he had realized the date he had thrown on his black cloak, slipped on his bunny slippers (Which had been the closest things to the door) and was running outside to start up the car. Normally he would never be seen anywhere without being completed covered by clothing, except for his hands, neck, and face; But the last time he had taken too long in a situation like this...Well, Loki had never been the same after that. Pitch had lost the battle that year, but that had been the year that Nicholas St. North had taken it too far. He could only hope that it wasn't the same case with Jack. The poor boy had only been working with him for two days, he surely didn't expect to be dragged into all this mess when he took the job. Nicholas and him had at least been born and raised into this lifestyle, even Loki had to some extent but Jack was nothing more than a bystander. With a sharp right turn he pulled up to the front of his shop. Everything on the street was silent and dark, which was good for him; Now there would be no witnesses. After taking a deep breath Pitch switched the car engine off and hopped out of his car.

A cold gust of wind knocked into him and his cloak fluttered with it like it was trying to say. Pitch threw his arm over his eyes to shield them from the harsh winds. When the winds finally died down Pitch dropped his arm, but he had to blink once more when he saw what was across the street.

In the window of their shop, Nicholas and Toothiana stood with their hands pushing up against the glass, grins stretching both of their face. However, these stretched faces seemed to be a twisted mockery of what a grin should look like. Their eyes held no joy, only something much darker. The only light in the shop was coming from back in their kitchen where a series of flashes were emanating, the bright flashes lighting up North and Tooth's faces like lighting. Before Pitch could step forward and out of his shock the couple waved mechanically before disappearing into thin air; The light in the kitchen had stopped as well. Pitch, not for the first time, cursed his families magic.

The North family had a long line of teleporters, but all the Black's had was the ability to rule the shadows. All his family had was the ability to make him look like some Grey freak. Pitch let out a frustrated growl and stormed forward, Unsure what he was going to do as he knew they wouldn't leave without their wards up. Something crunched under his feet and the sound was completely different compared to the light crunch of snow he had been hearing as he walked. Pitch looked down to see what he had stepped on and as he caught sight of it his eyes widened in horror. The ground seemed to be completely covered in black sand. Shadow sand that he had made his Nightmares with.

Pitch spun around and began sprinting to his shop.

"How did they get in?" he muttered disbelievingly under his breath, "There was no other way for a Nightmare to get out than for someone to open the door." He reached a shaking hand out for the door and gave a light push; It opened. Someone had been in his shop. Pushing a hand to the wall he felt around for the magic he had left to insure that threats couldn't get in, expecting to find it destroyed, Pitch felt confusion take hold when he saw that it was still perfectly in tact. But if his rivals hadn't broken the wards, then how did someone get in?

Pitch stood Irresolute in the dim doorway. Something felt off about the room, like there was a dangerous presence lurking in the darkness just waiting for him to step in. Pitch took a deep breath of air before raising his hand up, calling all of his shadows out of the room. Instantly shadows flocked from every corner of the room and into his hand. They ran along his skin, darkening it even further where the mass of shadows touched until they disappeared, seemingly into the man himself. With the shadows gone out of the room, Pitch could see what had happened in his absence. A shimmer of light shined in from outside and lit up the area by the window where dark sand lay scattered. Another Nightmare down.

Pitch was going to make his way past the sand to find what had gotten in to his shop, when he saw something gold sparkle in the corner of his eye.

"What the.." He trailed off as he noticed the single grain of golden sand that laid among the dark ones. Pitch furrowed his eyebrows and crouched down to examine the piece further. He had never seen something like that contaminate the shadow befo-BANG- Pitch shot up and swirled around to the checkout bar where the crash had come from. On the floor in front of the counter laid a single package that wreaked of North's foul magic. Approaching it cautiously he kicked it with his slipper. The package shifted and then jumped, like something had exploded from within it. Pitch stepped backwards hastily and watched with apprehension as a golden liquid began to seep out and spill onto the floor. Unconsciously leaning forward to get a better look at the substance, Pitch realized that it was in fact more of the golden sand he had seen in the nightmares remains. For a few seconds he looked at it in wary fascination, Why would North have sent something like this? His lips pushed together into a line of frustration as he watched the sand gently slip out of the package and onto the tile. Was this some sort of mockery? Was he mocking his shadows with this golden sand, the exact opposite of the darkness he created?

Pitch looked back down at the falling sand again, wondering just what North had planned, when he saw it. The liquid like sand that had fallen out of the sand wasn't just falling, it was moving. It was moving towards him. He jumped back quickly in fear and the sand took that time to attack. It leapt towards him in a flurry of golden light. Many years of paranoid defense coming into action, Pitch managed to expel a few shadow from his hand and at the gold sand before it could hit him. If the stuff was sent by North (Which judging by that creepy wave before it most likely was) then he definitely didn't want this stuff touching him. The second Pitch's shadow sand collided with the golden sand, the golden sand began to rip apart his sand.

Pitch looked on in horror, he more or less produced these things, what would it do to him? His breath came in quick, panicked bursts and his heart began jump about widely in his chest. The sand had finished the sand he had thrown at him now and it was...looking at him now. It didn't have eyes but it had formed it some sort of shape out of the sand, much like he formed the nightmares. Pitch threw an unshaped shadow at the golden sand and made a run toward his office, locking the door tightly behind him. 'Like it would make any difference.' Pitch thought with a sneer 'It obviously got in the store somehow.' He just hoped the extra warding on his office would keep whatever it is out. His eyes wandered to the TV on his desk.

"Maybe if I can figure out what brought it in I can stop this thing out there." He suggested to himself, aloud. He would have to do this quickly because there was no chance in telling when the sand could get in here with him. Flipping his TV on he set it up to show the feed from the security camera. About ten years ago when he had started running the shop he had switched to using a thermal camera after he realized that North could create spells that would make him invisible. He knew that he would have a better time tracking down whoever breaks into his shop if he at least could make out their body shape by heat than if he couldn't see them at all.

He rewinded the tape until he got to the beginning of where the heat signatures began, but what he saw made him take a second look.

"What?"

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Jack had made it back to his college in one piece, avoiding accidents and any more of those shadow creatures he had run into before. His blistered hands were burning and he just wanted to run into his dorm and place them in a nice tub of ice water. In fact he felt much too warm at the moment, he was almost into the dormitories so he supposed it wouldn't matter too much if he took his hoodie off now. After slipping off the hoodie with his elbows and the backs of his hands Jack continued his trek up the sidewalk and into the dormitory building with his blue hoodie resting over his fore-arm. He hadn't been wearing anything under the hoodie but the snow falling on his skin felt more like a relief to the heat he felt at the moment. He was almost disappointed when he walked into the heated hallway.

He was making his way back to his and Loki's dorm when he saw something odd. At the end of hallway he saw a familiar face getting a snack from the snack machine.

"Bunnymund?" He asked, wondering how in the world the tall, green eyed man had gotten here before him. Actually, wondering why he was here at all. Bunnymund looked up in surprise at hearing his name. To his knowledge no one in this dorm actually knew him enough to know he went by Bunnymund, and he definitely didn't tell that to that Loki character earlier. Looking up from his prize (A king size snickers bar) Bunnymund eye's widened in shock when he saw a shirtless Jack Frost.

"Oh, Jack, I didn't expect to see you here." He acknowledged with a nod as Jack made his way closer.

"Uh yeah, I'm just a couple of rooms over from here, do you go to college here?" he asked, automatically crossing his arms awkwardly in front of him when he saw that Bunny was staring at him. This turned out to be a mistake, as he brushed up against his hands. He hissed in pain and pulled his hands away from his arms. Bunnymund's eyes narrowed,

"What's wrong with your hands?" He stood up to his full, intimidating height and walked closer to Jack, determined to see his hands. Jack stepped back in surprise,

"Oh those? Umm nothing, I just cut them on something in my car." He lied, looking down at the ground to evade looking into the man's narrowed eyes. Bunnymund gripped Jack's wrist and turned around his hands so he could see his palms.

"Where did you get these from?" He hissed angrily, pressing tighter on Jack's wrists than he had meant to. Jack's blue eyes widened in shock before he mange to stutter out

"T-the package you all gave me, I got attacked by something and it just sorta heated up and started burning me!" Jack tried to wriggle out of Bunnymund's grip but the older man was much stronger than him. Bunny released one of Jack's wrists and pulled him towards a door.

"Wait here." He grumbled before tossing open the door and strutting in. He was back in less than a minute with a red solo cup full of an odd orange liquid.

"Drink it all, it will help your hands heal." He commanded before walking back into his dorm without so much as a goodbye. Instead he stood on the door waiting to hear Jack walk off before he let out a small hollow laugh. 'Can't have a minor injury interrupting our plans now can we.'

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Pitch stared at the screen in disbelief. In all of ten years his thermal camera had never once messed up before but could it be now? On the screen, small heat pockets would show up every now and then but it seemed as if no one was there. He knew someone was there however, because of the sounds. He had listened to the audio as he watched the footage and he could hear his Nightmare fighting but next to that he could also he someone gasping and yelling, someone who was distinctly male.

The room began to feel a bit odd and Pitch was once again reminded of the reason he was stuck in his office in the first place, looking over at the door he froze as he saw small tendrils of golden sand sneaking their way under the door.

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Sanderson gave a wide-mouthed yawn as he walked over to his niece's room with a jar in hand. Just like every night he would come and read her a bed time story and see her off to bed, as her mother worked the night shift most nights.

"Unca' Sandy!" A little blonde kid ran up and hugged him. She looked up at him with bright and energetic green eyes. The all yellow man silently laughed and led her back towards her bed. She hopped up in it and reached over to grab a book, while nearly toppling off the bed. She reached out and patted the seat that was beside the bed, on it was a clearly hand-made sign that read "SanDEES seet". Sandy smiled and sat down, just as Sophie, his niece had begun reading. I suppose I should have specified that when I said that Sandy "Would come and read her a bed time story" I really meant that little Sophie would look at the pictures in the book and babble off make-believe about what she believed to be occurring on the page. When she finally tired herself out Sandy would reach in the jar he brought with him and pull out a pinch of the golden dust in it. After sprinkling Sophie with it she would fall straight into a slumber of dreams about ponies and unicorns. He had taken to calling it dream sand and had made a few jars now, and had even sold his first jar earlier that night to a man who called himself Nicholas North.


	12. Jack's flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's reviewing and reading and coming to the tumblr. I love you all very much! 'How much is very much?' you ask. 'Like 3 much' I reply.

Jack went to push the door open, but it seemed to be stuck on something. Dropping his sweatshirt and the bottle of whatever Bunny had given him, he turned the knob again with the backs of his hand and rammed up against the door. It pressed open a crack, but it was large enough that he could see what was blocking the door. A pile of clothing was laying haphazardly in the floor, it seemed that someone had just thrown it there for some reason. Jack laid onto the hallway floor, inwardly cringing at the cheap carpet, and reached his arm through the door. He tried to tug at one of the articles that was blocking the doorway, but it had already been pulled partly under the door and had already gotten stuck too tight. 'If I could barely use my hands for this, how could I use them for work tomorrow?' Jack thought, before he remembered that he just broke into his workplace and got caught on camera doing it. Still laying on the floor Jack sighed and his shoulders sagged uselessly. Still, Loki was one of the cleanest guys he knew; Why would he leave his clothes right in front of the door?

"Hey Loki...Loki? Come get your clothes, I can't get through the door!" He shouted after he got himself close enough to where the door had opened. He renewed his efforts to move the clothes, biting his lip at the pain from his hands and he had just about tugged one of the bigger articles free when something slithered past his hand. He reeled back in surprise and pulled his arm out of the room as quickly as possible.

"What the..." Jack stood up and looked down at the floor curiously, what had touched his arm? He leaned against the door to get a better look when the door gave a jolt and sprung forward. Jack gave a startled yelp as he fell straight onto his face.

A strong, large hand helped him to his feet. Jack followed the hand up to arm which connected to a long neck which led to...a mop of black hair and a sharp face. His roommate glanced down at him with worried blue eyes.

"Are you alright?-Sorry I took so long-where's your shirt?" Loki couldn't seem to keep to one topic, and he was fluttering around him like a mother hen.

"Right there in the hallway, what were you doing anyway?" Jack asked, though it was just then that Jack noticed that Loki was only wearing jeans.

"Oh," He gasped in realization before turning away and blushing.

"I umm...I didn't interrupt anything did I?" Loki looked at him questioningly before blushing himself and rushing to get the rest of his clothes on.

"Oh no no no. I was just...Just, just walking around naked. Yeah, that's what I was doing." Jack picked his sweatshirt and the bottle up foot. The hallway floor before walking back into the room and pushing the door behind him with a foo. Loki was throwing on the other clothes that had been laying on the floor; A green long sleeved shirt and a pair of orange socks that had cartoony ghost and witches on them. Jack's eyebrows rose in confusion.

"So did you just decide to become a closet nudist tonight or is this a habit of yours?" He asked averting his eyes from Loki. He didn't think he would ever be able to look at him the same way again.

"J-just decided to tonight, ya' know, a mans gotta be free to run around naked in his own home!" Loki said with faked enthusiasm; He couldn't let Jack know the truth. Jack hummed thoughtfully and nodded.

"Next time you decide to do a naked marathon in our dorm make sure to put your clothes on before I get back." At this remark, Loki froze before frowning.

"Where were you, anyway?" He asked with narrowed eyes. Jack paused and glanced up at Loki suspiciously. 'He knows something' he thought as memories of the dark horse floated back towards the front of his mind.

"I was just at my other job."

"Other job when did you get another job?" It was a valid question, Jack supposed. After all he hadn't even been able to get one before Loki helped him out with Pitch. Jack felt the beginning of guilt start to churn in his stomach. Pitch had been the only one to even think about giving him a job before this week and he had betrayed him so easily just for a lesser paying job.

"Just a little bit after I got the one with Pitch, someone was hiring and I thought that I might as well try my luck." For some odd reason Loki looked relieved.

"That's great-" Loki stopped short, the smile that had begun to form on his face sliding off in favor of what looked like horror.

"What's wrong with your hands?" Jack froze and looked down at his blistered up hands.

"I-I-I can't tell you." The guilt that had just started to burrow into his stomach a few moments ago was back full blast now. A cold sweat was making it's way down his forehead and the room seemed to be closing in on him. What could he tell Loki? Loki worked at the coffee shop for years and was bound to know that just about every shop closed at around the same time so he couldn't have just said that he burnt it cooking something. But since Loki worked there for years did he...Did he know about the things in Pitch's shop at night?  
That same worried look was back and Loki stepped forward to get a better look at Jack's hands.

"Jack," He began with a wavering voice as he grasped Jack's wrist and turned his hand over to view his palm.

"What store do you work at?" Jack felt something like lead, heavy in his stomach and the guilt was overwhelming him, but when he opened his mouth to tell him, to yell it out that he was working at the Christmas café with people who hated Pitch. That he had broken into Pitch's shop for them and dropped something that he knew was dangerous in there; Nothing came out.

He wanted to tell Loki, tried yelling it. North hired me! He tried to scream out, but his mouth wouldn't even move to form the words. What was happening?

"I can't say it." He admitted tearily. The guilt of what he had done was tearing him up inside but no matter how much he tried to he couldn't get the words past his lips. Loki's eyes filled with pity, as if he knew exactly what was wrong. He pulled Jack forward into tight hug and Jack felt as if he might suffocate because Loki couldn't know what was wrong, if he did he wouldn't be able to look at him again. Loki would be on the first line to the police telling them that his roommate just broke into a store and put a dangerous object in there for his boss to find. Jack stepped out of the hug and stumbled back to the door. He fumbled around with the handle and managed to open it somehow, though his hands had started bleeding. Loki tried to follow him but Jack was running on pure adrenalin. His fight or flight instinct had just kicked in but he would never be able to hurt Loki. Loki had helped him so much in the past few months that he could never repay that by harming him, so Jack ran. He ran and ran until he was in his car and even then he drove as fast as he could off of the campus heading whatever direction the roads took him; his only thought being that he had to get away.

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Loki tried to run after Jack but the kid was much younger than him and definitely faster. Loki watched from the parking lot as Jack's car sped down the busy road. He knew exactly where Jack worked now, even if he hadn't been able to say anything his silence had said a thousand words; All of them being 'The Christmas cafe'. He should have realized something was wrong when Jack had told him that North had approached him. North didn't just come up to random people and start up a random conversation. Somehow he had know who Jack was. He had known that he, a loyal All hallows employee, hung out with Jack. Loki knew he should have grabbed Jack the second he had told him that North had spoken with him and demanded that he tell him everything that North told him. He didn't do that, but now he knew that he couldn't just wait around for Pitch or Jack to answer their phone. His friend was in danger and he had no idea where he had gone, but he knew someone who could tell him. With strong, determined steps Loki made his way to his car. He just hoped that Pitch was still at the shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I know it's not much but school work is piling up and I'm doing the best I can until I get my next break (Which will be sometime next month and I'll have a whole week off and I'll spend it making a huge update for this story, OK?) Oh and also because this chapter is so short I'll tell you now that I am going to start the blackice up in the next chapter.


	13. Residency change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki takes initiative and Jack gets a hefty dose of nostalgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know, another sucky chapter. It's like the more I write the worse I get! But I'll still get you all your chapters every weekend so don't worry.

Loki made his way to All hallows in less than 15 minutes. He had driven so fast that even semi-truck had veered away from him, most of them went to honk in annoyance but then they caught a glimpse of the positively volatile look Loki was giving them, and decided otherwise. Loki was running on pure adrenalin by the time he reached the shop. He had talked himself into a tough mindset on his drive there and now he felt like he could take on a whole army.

He threw the of his car open and stomped out of the car, charging like a PMS-ing bull towards the shops entrance when he saw Pitch's car out front. He was so pumped that he didn't notice that Pitch had left the door open and the dark sand that was scattered all over the floor. He had made his way to the cash registers when his mind actually processed that something was amiss. The golden sand which had previously been trying to slip under the door to Pitch's office had formed together into a sort of odd human figure. The sand-man looked oddly enough like a knight; It had a large golden shield held at its side and it stood at just about Loki's height. It was just about then that Loki's adrenalin chose to wear off. Him and the sand-man stared at each other blankly for a moment before Loki pushed himself into a fighting stance.

Loki made his face emotionless and beckoned the sand-man forward with two fingers, clearly doing his best to imitate some kind of samurai he had seen on TV earlier that week. When the sand-knight stepped forward and formed a long, golden sword out of itself, Loki took that time to start screaming and running like a baby to the exit. While fleeing Loki didn't take the time to notice that a tendril of sand had sprung in front of him, and pushed the door shut until he slammed face-first into the door itself.

Around this time Pitch had realized that someone else had arrived as the sand had receded back into the main part of the shop. Pitch had manged to keep them back for a little while using his shadows as a make shift shield around him, but once they had broken through that...Pitch shuddered just thinking about it. His right sleeve was singed off and his right arm where he usually took in the nightmare sand from was swelling and covered in burns. Thankfully they had pulled away before any real damage could be wrought. Pitch took a deep breath before forcing his office door open. The sight that met his eyes was most certainly not what he expected.

Loki was still laying on the floor, most likely he thought if he played dead the sand would leave him be, but this was not the case. The sand-knight stood in front of Loki, he was down on one knee with his sword in the ground. Almost like Loki was the sand's commander or something. Pitch mused, much happier to see the sand in a submissive position than trying to kill him. He felt like he should be on some kids show, standing out in front of North's shop yelling:

"And you would of gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for my meddling ex-employee and his tendency to be a giant goof-ball" but Pitch was more mature than that...well OKAY North wasn't in the shop at the moment or else he would be doing that at this very moment dressed in nothing but his singed cloak and pajama bottoms and fluffy slippers.

"Loki get up. If that thing was going to hurt you it would have done it already." Pitch donned a sneer and prowled forward toward Loki. He couldn't afford to show fear in front of someone he was trying to command, it just wasn't logical, and it was a terrible quality in a leader. Loki rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself off the floor, his eyes darting nervously to the knight.

"What is it?" He asked Pitch, a lump forming in his throat as he swallowed. He kept a watch on the kneeling knight as Pitch began to talk.

"One of North's new concoctions no doubt." His nose twitch as if he smelled something bad before he continued.

"I just don't understand why it's only attacking me, and why in the world its kneeling to you of all people."

"Hn, maybe it just didn't fancy your pretty little slippers." Loki retorted, he had never been more happy to have quit his old job there than now. Now he could insult Pitch and not have to worry about getting fired for it. Pitch's eyes flashed dangerously and Loki could have sworn he saw Pitch's grey skin turn a shade darker on his cheeks, but it was gone before he could point it out. Pitch shook his head.

"I highly doubt it's because of my fashion sense , but maybe..." His golden eyes lightened in comprehension and he stepped towards Loki to see if his conclusion was right. The knight's head snapped up and peered straight at Pitch; it didn't have eyes, or a mouth for that matter, but Pitch knew it could see him.

"Loki, tell it to go back to where it came from."

"What? Are you insane?!" Shrieked Loki jabbing a finger towards the knight.

"I can see your arm, I'm not gonna try and boss this guy around when he can do that!" Despite sounding so adamant in his refusal, Loki wouldn't meet Pitch's eyes.

"Stop whining and do it." Pitch ordered his voice weighted with a cold steel. Loki bowed his head and looked towards the knight who now stared at him unemotionally. He gulped loudly and tugged at his shirt collar.

"Umm well... ...could you, umm would you mind..goingbackwhereyoucamefrom?" the words spilled from Loki's mouth quickly and all jumbled together. The knight quirked his head sideways as if confused before standing up straight and nodding. It turned itself back into sand and flew out of the shop. To Pitch's surprise it didn't head to North's shop, but rather even farther downtown.

"Just as I suspected." Announced Pitch arrogantly as he strutted his way to the door.

"The spell North cast on you three years ago, his magic is still present within it and this sand is recognizing it." He clarified when Loki looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"We should try to chase it's magical signature and figure out who made it." As Pitch suggested that Loki's eyes grew wide as he remembered what he had come there for in the first place.

"No! We have to go get Jack, he totally flipped out back in the dorm, and he's injured!" Pitch's eyebrow raised and he gave Loki a cynical look.

"He got back to your dorm and you let him leave?"

"He just- North hired him the day after you did and now he's in a second magically bound contract that won't allow him to talk about it." Loki knew that it would make Pitch angry but this was his friend's life on the line, North was dangerous.

"We're leaving." His tone had grown low and he looked terrifying.

"Wait don't be mad at him, he didn't know!" Loki argued as his old bosses eyes began to hold more black in them than gold.

"I said 'We. Are. Leaving'" With his bad arm he gripped Loki's shoulder tight. The last thing he heard was Loki screaming out as the shadows enveloped them.

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Jack drove and drove not really paying attention to where he was going. He just needed to get away so when he ended up at the very same lake he had almost died at a few years before he felt it was the perfect irony. The place that had haunted his nightmares for years was where he had ended up when he needed a break from all the emotional havoc he felt. He had parked his car up near the road and walked on down to the water when he realized where he had driven. Jack wasn't really sure why they called it a lake when it was just a little bigger than a large pond, but he supposed it didn't matter anyway; Most of the parents in the area wouldn't let their kids go anywhere near the lake now, especially during winter. He was sixteen and supposed he should have known by then that even if the water was frozen in the shallow edges it would always be thinner in the middle, he was just thankful that his sister hadn't moved far from the shore. They had both gotten a pair of ice skates only a few days before on Christmas and had decided to try them out at the lake since it had frozen over. Logically speaking Jack shouldn't have even survived. His sister was in no shape to help him and everytime he tried to grab onto the icy surface another hunk of ice would break off into the ice and push him back in...When they had both gotten away from the Lake even his sister, who had watched the whole time had no idea how he had gotten out of the water.

That was the first time something odd had happened in his life, something that was out of his usual schedule of school and family. Then his hair had gone prematurely white and his life hadn't been the same since. Now was no exception. In the course of three days his life had gone from 'getting back on schedule' to 'What's a schedule?'. He had gotten in a car accident which he clearly remembered getting injured in only to wake up fine, and his car in mint condition again. Jack had met crazy cafe employees, been attacked by horses made of sand, he was always freezing cold and now, now he was going to lose his jobs and his best friend because of his inability to say 'No'.

He was surprisingly close to the edge of the water, but he didn't feel any fear. It wasn't like he was actually on the water, he was safe on land. Snow was falling all around him and forming up all around him but Jack didn't mind; In fact the snow actually felt kinda warm to his cold skin. Jack reached up to catch a handful of snowflakes with a dopey smile on his face when behind him the air seemed to move. Jack spun around at the odd sensation, and suddenly Loki and to Jack's great horror, Pitch, appeared in front of him. Before he could even question how it was possible, Loki stumbled forwards and unintentionally knocked Jack back onto the ice.

Jack's eyes went wide as he fell backwards. Time seemed to pass slowly and he saw Loki's expression turn from confusion to horror as he realized what he had done. Pitch looked on indifferently, they were in the shallow waters after all, what did it matter if Jack fell in there? Jack felt the ice crunch against his back and his slid down the slick ice a little ways before coming to a complete stop. The situation seemed to familiar to him now, his memories of that night on the ice flashing back in his mind. He remembered trying to breathe but his clothes kept pulling him further into the water the water vibrated from his sister yelling. She couldn't hear what she was yelling and neither could he so he supposed it didn't matter.

Now Jack was on the ice again, but this time he wouldn't fall in. He pushed himself up with a sudden surge of strength and ran as fast as he could towards the shore line, the ice under him repaired itself after cracking but Jack couldn't find it in himself to notice at the moment. The cracking sound just fueled his terror.

Loki grabbed Jack as soon as he reached shore and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, over the months Loki had started to see Jack as a kind of little brother. He definitely fit the little part. As Jack's initial fear began to wear off he became aware of the pain from his hands where he had pushed up harshly from the ice and the pain in his heart as he realized he had survived. He hadn't fallen in again; he would be fine. It was nothing like before and yet in a way it was just like before. Someone still watched from the shore as Jack tried to get off the ice and that terrible cracking noise still rang in his ears.

A soft cry announced to Pitch that there was more to this than just falling back onto the water. Jack's level of fear was something he rarely felt, if ever. And now Pitch knew why. It was a basic fear he supposed; the fear of drowning. Although Jack's was more deeply rooted than the children at beaches or pools, he had come to recognize that fear. Jack was shaking and shivering and a sob got caught in his throat as he cried. Pitch pushed Loki away from Jack and picked the man in question up. Jack curled up against Pitch in search of warmth and Pitch shivered at the coldness of Jack's skin. Without warning Jack gripped Loki's arm again and the shadows once again took them. This time they appeared by Jack's car.

"Loki, drive his car up to the shop, we're only about thirty minutes away from it so it shouldn't take you that long." Pitch explained as Jack's face burrowed into the crook of his neck. He could feel cold tears trailing down his shoulder.

"Wait, what are we going to do about Jack's...situation?" Loki inquired, as he opened the driver side door (He was happy to find that the keys were in the ignition.). Pitch sighed and looked at the distraught man in his arms. He would have much more to deal with when North became aware that Jack worked for Pitch. Pitch knew Jack wasn't a spy for North, if only because North would never allow anyone who worked for him to even fake work for Pitch and Nicholas North had the most infamous temper in town.

"He will stay with me. It's the only way I can ensure his safety." Loki nodded in acceptance. Pitch was practiced enough in magic to protect Jack from the North family, he only hoped Pitch knew what he was getting himself into.


	14. Doorways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Kayla for the advice! And thanks to spookysabotage for the fanart

Pitch had been sipping his early morning coffee (Black, two sugars) when he heard a large thump coming from the guest room where he had left Jack last night. The frosty haired teen had been so exhausted after he had used the shadows to transport them to his house that he had fallen asleep right in his arms. Pitch felt the corners of his lip twitch up against his mug ,but he told himself it was because of the shadow-porting. He had been so enraged at the fact that...Well he wasn't quite sure who he was more angry at, Loki, Jack or North. The point was that he had been so enraged that he managed to call upon his already weakened shadows and moved him and another person at least 60 miles away. Twice. He couldn't wait to figure out what he would be able to do when his shadows were back at maximum power. Smirking he set his black mug on the table and sauntered towards the guest bedroom. He opened the door not even thinking to knock, and therefore was not at all prepared for what was on the other side of the door.

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Jack awoke slowly and weaseled his way out from the covers. His body felt sore, and tired. He cracked an eye open but the sting of the sun from outside had him shying back underneath the dark blankets. He actually couldn't even remember falling asleep last night...Last night...Pitch! Where had everyone gone- What happened- Where was he? Jack bolted up and tumbled right off of the bed onto the hard wood flooring. His dorm had carpet. The sun stung at his eyes from a window that definitely was not his. The window had heavy red curtains draw to its side and a golden rod was holding it up. The walls were a light cream color and the floor as Jack had just found out, was still extremely hard. Jack tried to move but his legs were still halfway on the bed and tangled in the white sheets he had slept on. He wriggled around like a worm, trying to free his legs from the sheets deadly grasp when the door opened. And this is how Pitch found Jack.

Jack froze and stared up in shock at the black robed and fuzzy slippered Pitch who stood in the wooden doorway. Pitch's jaw tightened and for a moment Jack thought that the man was angry, and then the laughter began. It started out as a sharp exhale through his nose which led to a hand clutched over his mouth and his chest heaving until the laughs couldn't be held back, and the whole room was filled with an echoing rich laugh. Pitch leaned against the door frame to support himself as Jack renewed his struggles to escape his white prison. He flopped back like a fish but that only seemed to tighten the sheets hold around his legs. Jack glared up at his boss and a flush of pink overcame his face.

"Could you just come over here and help me?" He grumbled trying to look at anywhere but Pitch. Pitch took a deep shuddering breath and made his way over. He kneeled down beside Jack and started working on finding the edges of the sheet.

"What is on your hand." the tone wasn't a question. Pitch seemed to already know the answer. Jack gulped and sat up,

"I-I just-It's a burn." What was he supposed to say? Actually I broke into your shop last night and was attacked by some creepy shit that tried to eat me and burn my hand off? By the way thanks for letting me stay in your house last night, that was real cool? Yeah right like he would ever say that, that would land him a first class room in prison complete with shower buddies, and a felon for a roomate.

Pitch sighed and pulled up his right sleeve showing Jack the nearly identical burn types on his arm.

"Loki told me of your employment with North last night." He stated heavily, all traces of his previous mirth gone.

"I must admit I find myself a little disappointed that you aren't being honest with me, although I suppose it is only to be expected." Jack's face was a cross between horror and shame. He wasn't exactly sure what to be feeling now that Pitch knew. Why was he being so calm? He had broken into his shop last night! If someone had done that to him, Jack knew that he would be calling the police, getting the newspaper involved, and doing generally whatever he could to ensure justice was served. So why hasn't Pitch? As if sensing that Jack's mind had began to wonder Pitch continued speaking.

"I wouldn't have been able to figure it out if Loki hadn't mentioned your burns last night-Speaking of those I have something for that." Pitch found the sheets edge and folded it over, only to find that the other edge had knotted itself around that edge. Glaring at the fabric he started untying it, the silence giving Jack some sort of odd courage to speak.

"But then why aren't you angry? If I were you I would be furious. I broke the law after all." He asked, albeit timidly.

"Oh I am Jackson. Livid to be truthful, but answer me this: Did you sign a paper that North handed you?" Pitch looked up with a brow raised in question.

"I...Yes." Jack did his best to avoid looking into Pitch's eyes, If he had known that signing that paper would have led to such an embarrassing position he would have ran screaming from the Christmas cafe.

"As I suspected. After signing that you would have found yourself more likely to follow North's commands. It would have made it seem like they were your own choices, changing your way of thinking – until your shift was over at least." Explained Pitch as he yanked the knot from the sheets, allowing Jack to squirm free.

"What do you mean, how could signing a paper do that? It's just ink on a paper." Jack and Pitch stood from the floor and Jack's leg groaned in appreciation of being moved from it's spot on the floor. Pitch sighed and started for the doorway.

"Just follow me Jack, We'll talk over a nice warm cup of coffee, I suspect mine has already gone cold. It's not usually this cold in the house." Hesitantly Jack followed Pitch down the hallway, the walls were bare and not a single family photo was hanging about.

"Did you just move in or something?" He blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth. He was already in the dog house with Pitch, asking about his private life wasn't going to bring him up any higher in Pitch's books. Pitch glanced back and regarded Jack coldly.

"No." It was the only word he offered as they continued their trek to the kitchen.

When they arrived Jack wasn't exactly sure what he had though Pitch kitchen would look like, but it definitely hadn't been this. The walls were solid white and the floors were black and white tiles. The kitchen table looked like it had come straight from an old 80's diner, the chairs were red leather with black, metal backs, and a red clock hung next to a wide white window. Pitch stuck his coffee in the microwave and gestured for Jack to sit down at the table.

"What would you like in your coffee?" He asked pulling a green mug out of the cabinet. Jack thought about it for a moment before replying,

"Just a scoop of creamer and two sugars please." Pitch nodded and fixed it up, glad he hadn't poured out the extra coffee earlier. He pulled his coffee from the microwave and sat down across from Jack, sliding the green mug towards him. Jack took a quick sip before reeling back and pushing the cup back onto the table.

"Yowch that was hot!" He exclaimed sticking his scolded tongue out to expose it to the cold air. Pitch gave him and odd look before drinking his own coffee(Which was fine by the way.).

"North and I can use magic." Pitch stated bluntly. Jack looked at him blankly before laughing.

"Wow , and for a minute there I wasn't sure you knew how to make a joke, but that's hilarious!" Jack's laugh became slower and more forced as he realized that Pitch didn't seem to find it as funny as he did. In fact he didn't seem to find it funny in the least.

"This is no laughing matter Jack. There's a magic war going on and now you're smack in the middle of it."

"What are you talking about? Magic? Magic isn't real!" Jack stood up quickly and glanced around for the exit, his boss had to be on drugs or something!

"Then how do you explain how you survived that car crash? How you're car was perfectly fine? What you saw last night." Pitch voice was becoming darker and darker with each passing question and he too had stood up. In two short steps he was towering over his employee. Jack stepped back from him, but looked right up into his eyes.

"Prove it." He challenged. Pitch gave him a curious look, he had fully expected Jack to run away screaming that he was a maniac, but this, this Pitch could handle. He never missed a chance to show off. He mumbled a few words under his breath so Jack couldn't hear them (It would be disastrous if he tried imitating the words, Pitch shuddered at the thought.) and then he flicked his wrist loosely over the kitchen table.

At first Jack didn't see anything change and then the salt and pepper shakers moved. At first they just twitched, it was barely noticeable and Jack could have passed it off as a trick of the light. The cabinet doors all jerked open and the dishes all floated out of them in a conga line, The salt and pepper shakers floated above the tables and started making shaking sounds, The coffee maker started whistling and the pots started banging together in an odd conglomeration of music. Jack looked on in awe and a bell of laughter escaped his mouth and he looked up at Pitch with delighted, wide eyes.

"Magic," He breathed,

"You can do magic!" He looked around at the dancing kitchen ware and laughed again, Pitch smirked and nodded.

"Shocking I know, it's not like I tried to tell you that or anything." His tone was mocking, but Jack saw the small smile playing on his lips and smiled back. He sat back down, and as soon as Pitch had the kitchen back to normal, he sat down too.

"Well Jack, Just so I can make sure you stay safe during the... battle of the coffee shops so to speak, I would like you to stay here. Just for the month. It's really quite dangerous for someone who can't defend themselves against magic to be involved with this. And believe me it's dangerous even if you can defend yourself." Jack glanced down at his hands, and the picture of that shadow creature brought itself up in his memory. If that was only the beginning of this month then maybe it would be better if he stayed over.

"If you don't mind me staying over so long, I'd be happy to stay over." Besides it was only thirty minutes away from his college anyway which wouldn't be that much of a commute. Pitch grinned over at him.

"Oh I insist, Jack." Jack just kept smiling. It's just a month, thought Jack, Maybe It won't be that bad.


	15. Coffee-shop cleanup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandy's been working on something odd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but now I've got a way to properly plan out everything so I'll try and make the next update at least 4000 words.

After a few minutes of silence Pitch set his cup down and stood up.

"Would you like a tour, Jack?" He inquired with a raised brow. Jack set his coffee down next to Pitch's, rising from his chair as well.

"Yeah, sure. I'm gonna be staying here for a month after all, might as well get to know the place a little." Pitch inched his head downward in agreement before he guided Jack towards the hallway once more. Now that Jack was actually paying attention, Jack could see that he had missed out on a lot of details before. There were four doors down the hallway. The closest one to the kitchen was where Jack had stayed, he wasn't too sure where the other three led. "This first room will be your room while you stay here, and door that's almost right across from it is the bathroom. I have my own bathroom attached to my room so don't worry about me barging in on you while you're in the shower." Pitch's lip twitched again and Jack sincerely hoped that he wasn't joking. A man needed his privacy, he had enough of getting barged in on by his sister, mother and father when he lived back at home, he didn't move away just to be thrown back into that again. Pitch walked only halfway down the hallway, and then halted right before he reached the last two rooms. "The room on the left is my bedroom, and the room on the right is my basement. You are not to approach either of them. Under any circumstances." Jack gulped at the sudden demanding tone that Pitch's voice had taken on.

"Err, yes sir! I mean sure Mr. Black. Won't step a foot near them!" Pitch stared intently at Jack for a moment before turning around, and pulling Jack back towards the kitchen. Jack could have sworn that he heard a growl from the basement before he was ushered back into the kitchen.

"I know the house isn't much, but it gets the job done." Pitch offered taking the coffee mugs and placing them into the sink.

"Now, Would you care to accompany me to All Hallows? The shops quite messy, and I can't help but put that blame off on you." Jack wasn't sure he would ever know when Pitch was joking. A sudden shock of realization hit Jack.

"Wait a minute! What about school? Oh god I'm late!" He was prepared to go into a frenzy and rush out to his car-Wait where was his car?! Pitch pressed down on Jack's shoulders soothingly

"You're in no shape to go to school today anyway, after all with the emotional state you were in last night it's a wonder that you're this calm now. Being exposed to so much magic in such a short span of time isn't good for anyone." He explained with his silk like voice. Jack couldn't help calm down

"Yeah, sure, right. I did cause it after all, might as well help clean it up." His eyes were dazed slightly, and partially dilated.

"Good, now go get cleaned up. We leave in ten minutes." Pitch commanded. Jack nodded blankly before walking out of the room. He got all the way to the door of the bathroom before he snapped out of it, and sprinted back down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Did you just control me?" He shrieked, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that his voice went much higher than he would have liked. Pitch's back was turned towards the sink where their mugs were. Jack almost thought he wasn't going to turn around, but Pitch surprised him by turning around with a quiet smile on his face.

"Oh, just go take your shower." He shushed playfully. Jack turned to leave, but before he could Pitch appeared in front of him. "What the- How did you get there!"

"Don't worry it's part of the whole magic deal, you'll get used to it." Jack very much doubted that.

"I just wanted to inform you that your possessions are all in the closet in your room, and the salve for your hand is on the bathroom counter." And with that Pitch was back over at the sink. Jack shook his head before moving off to go take a quick shower.

* * *

 

 

"Are you finally ready to go?" Pitch drawled, standing in the guest rooms doorway. Jack looked up from his bed, the towel he had toiled up in his hair fell down, and sent his white hair sprawling everywhere. He shook it out and stood up.

"Yeah, I guess." He said clapping a hand over his mouth to smother a yawn. Pitch smirked and stepped forward. Grabbing a hold of Jack's arm he looked straight into his eyes,

"Good." And then they were off.

* * *

 

The only thing that kept Jack from falling was Pitch's tight grip on his arm.

"What-"

"More magic stuff. Like I said you'll get used to it." Jack huffed and pulled Pitch's hand off of him.

"Yeah, well a little warning next time would be great, buddy. I feel like I'm about to heave up my stomach." Pitch ignored him, and went to unlock the door, flipping the closed sign to open while he was over there.

"Go in the storage closet over there and grab the broom and dustpan, you're going to need for all this sand." Pitch walked over, and stood behind the counter.

"Well if I'm cleaning what are you going to be doing?" Jack asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Someone does have to man the cash register you know." Pitch answered, that same annoying smirk taking residence on his face. Jack groaned, and got the broom. He started sweeping at the giant sand piles on the floor. Now that he was thinking about it he didn't remember seeing any sand on the floor last night, but then again he wasn't really looking.

"So where'd all this sand come from anyway?" He asked Pitch as he took a sweep at the black mass. Pitch reclined back against the counter and looked lazily over to Pitch.

"That little package you brought in here yesterday started killing off my security." Jack's breath caught in his throat. It was said so casually, yet he couldn't have heard him right.

"So you're saying that this was something? I'm cleaning up something's remains?" Jack's voice took on that squeaky quality again. Pitch nodded slightly.

"Sort of, it was just a being made of sand, not very sentient." Jack decided to stop thinking about it. At 11:30 the door chimed, and a tall blonde man in a familiar mustard jacket pushed the door open with his shoulder, a golden laptop clutched against his chest.

"Sandy!" Greeted Jack as he adjusted his broken necklace. The golden man's face brightened considerably, and he pattered over to jack, who was cleaning black stains off of the floor. He sat his laptop down on a nearby table, and eagerly popped it open.

'I've done it!' he signed with trembling hands. He hadn't planned on showing anyone until he had tested it, but... Oh well! With two quick taps a long word document appeared on the screen.

'Here. Read this first couple of sentences.' Jack was working here so he must be at least a little knowledgeable about magic, there wouldn't be any harm in showing Jack...

Jack set down his now black rag, and hopped over to Sandy. He placed his hand down on the table, but drew it back when something burned his hand. "Ouch!" he exclaimed blowing on his hand. Searching the tabletop he quickly found the source of his distress. A few grains of golden sand were laying next to Sandy's laptop.

"How odd, I guess I must have missed this when I was cleaning up the rest of it." Jack commented quietly. His eyes went to the word document, and he quickly started reading, missing Sandy's worried look, and the fact that his golden eyebrows were raised to about his hairline now. _In a land far, far away lived a beautiful princess, who lived in a beautiful castle with walls that were made of gold and ceilings made of emerald. This princess' name was..._ Jack yawned, but quickly tried to cover it with a cough. He looked over at Sandy to make sure he hadn't noticed. He hadn't, or at least if he had he wasn't showing it. Jack tried his best to continue reading, but for some reason he couldn't concentrate. _The princess' name was...was.._ Jack's eyes snapped shut, and he dropped to the floor, fast asleep. _The princess' name was Sophie._ Sandy jumped up in alarm when Jack hit the floor, a loud thump echoing across the otherwise quiet coffee house. Pitch, who had been ignoring them until then, jumped up from his seat in surprise at the noise. His head snapped towards the two as fast as it could. What were they up to now? His eye's zeroed in on Sanderson fretting over something that was on the floor. Jack! Pitch ran over as fast as he could, his thoughts rushing all over the place. The main ones however were wondering if there was any way North could have gotten to Jack, and if he was alright. In record timing Pitch was kneeling next to Jack, who seemed to be deeply asleep. Pitch gathered Jack into his arms and began carrying him to his office so he could use the shadows and take them back to his house.

"So sorry about this Sanderson. Jack had a rough night last night, I should have kept him in bed." Pitch called over his shoulder, before slipping into his office, and shutting the door. Sandy's head shot up so fast that his golden locks flew awkwardly over his forehead. Jack was at Pitch's house last night?


	16. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's energy is basically sucked away from him, and Pitch thinks he knows a way to make him better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really just a filler chapter I guess, this wasn't even supposed to happen, I had something else entirely planned for this chapter, but oh well. It'll just have to go in the next one. Thanks to Slenderboogey on tumblr for getting me writing again.

Despite it being his third time shadow walking, Pitch was moving like an expert. The transition from his office to his Jack's room took only a breath. He stepped forward, and the next moment he was placing Jack down on the bed. Pitch shivered, and pulled the bed sheets over Jack. Why was Jack so cold? Who could have put a spell on him? Pitch thought that maybe Sandy could have, but if Sandy had any dark intentions he surely wouldn't have chosen his cafe to do anything in. Heck, even he wouldn't do anything like that in his shop. The nightmares-the ones that were still alive at least- are attracted to dark thoughts, and more importantly fear. Pitch had quite the time keeping them in check when he first came into his inheritance.

Jack tossed over, and tried to push away the blankets. His bleary eyes opened, and he groaned softly. A sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead. Pitch frowned. He had been alone for so long.. How did one take care of someone who was sick? When he was sick he usually just closed up the shop, and-And oh my god the shop! He pulled the sheets back quickly from Jack, shivering slightly at the cold that seemed to emanate from Jack's being.

"I'll be right back Jack. I must go get Sandy out of the shop." Jack closed his eyes, and gave a drowsy laugh.

"Heh. Back Jack. That rhymed." Pitch rolled his eyes, and walked through the shadows once again. Jack was making jokes-albeit stupid jokes, but jokes none the less. Maybe he would be alright after all.

Pitch appeared back in his office only a few moments later. His arm tingled from the strenuous use of his shadows in such a short amount of time, but he shook it off. His shadows would have to gain more endurance, more power, if he was to ever beat Nicholas North. He stepped out of his office hurriedly.

"Sorry about that Sander-" Sandy was gone. In fact the whole shop was empty, luckily enough.

Pitch ran over to the door, and after flipping the sign locked the door. He still wasn't entirely sure how exactly Jack had gotten into his shop the night before, but he would be sure to ask him once he was well again.

As he was pulling his shadows into focus, something glinted in the corner of his eye. Pitch's eyebrow rose in question, and turning towards the tables he saw what had caught his attention.

"Shit-Jack!" He pulled the shadows before they were fully formed, and jumped through them, landing on the bed with Jack. Jack's ice blue eyes snapped open, and he flinched harshly at the knee that was stabbing his right leg. He, and Pitch locked eyes for a moment. Pitch was nearly laying right on Jack, and only his arms were holding him up, otherwise he would have smooshed Jack like a pancake. Pitch gave a rather unmanly squeak, and rolled straight off the bed. Rubbing his leg, Jack sat up, and tried to focus his vision on Pitch.

"Are you makin' fun of me?" Jack slurred angrily. Pitch recalled the situation Jack had landed himself into this morning, and stood up hastily. He hoped he hadn't looked nearly as foolish. Maybe as cute, but not as foolish he thought in the back of his mind. He prayed that Jack couldn't see his blush.

"Why's your face all red? Looks kinda odd with your grey skin and stuff." Jack had moved so that he was sitting cross-legged, resting his elbow on his leg, and his chin on his palm. His eyes were opened halfway, but it look like it was taking him some amount of strength to keep them even that much opened. Pitch wiped at his robes, and huffed.

"Oh how I wish I was Jackson." Jack squinted up at Pitch. Now that Pitch was standing, he towered at least a foot and a half above Jack.

"Well I wish you weren't so freakin' tall. You're like a moose or somethin'." Jack drawled drunkenly. Pitch's eyebrows rose yet again, and he sighed dramatically. Pushing Jack back onto the bed carefully he began explaining what he had seen.

"When I got back into the cafe, Sandy was gone!" Jack gasped dramatically, and tried to sit up again.

"You mean, like he decided not to wait for you to get back, and just went home?!" Jack's eyes widened comically,

"How unheard of! It's so despicable, I can't even-"

"Oh just shut up Jack." Pitch shushed him, paping him on the head lightly. Jack looked up with a dramatic pout, his lips pursed. Pitch decided he liked sleepy, no-filter Jack.

"At Sandy's seat was a small pile of the golden sand, the kind that attacked me, and you yesterday!" Jack's brows furrowed.

"And this means?" He inquired sleepily, stifling a yawn as his body fought to stay awake.

"That I have a way to make you better, but you're not going to like it." Jack opened his mouth to add in a stupid comment about how he knew just what would make him feel better, but Pitch cut him off before he could say anything that would embarrass him when he was in his right mind.

"My nightmare sand will cancel out the effects, as it's likely that you've only been subjected to a small dose. I'll warn you now though, the sand isn't for the faint of heart." Jack peered up at Pitch through blurry eyes.

"Why're there two of you?" He chuckled out, his vision blurring with sleep. Pitch groaned, conjuring a small amount of black sand into his right arm.

"Right. How could I forget. I'm speaking with a college student." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey! What did'ju say bout' mah-" Pitch tossed the sand at Jack. Jack stopped mid-sentence, and he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

'Well,' thought Pitch as he walked out of the room. 'His talking was getting annoying, and a he'll thank me when he wakes up. It's only a few nightmare's after all.'

Line break.

After leaving Jack to sleep off the effects of the golden sand, Pitch had sat down at the kitchen table, his nose deep within a book. The only sound in the room was the constant ticking of the clock, but he had gotten used to it by now, filing it away as just another background sound. He was just finishing a sentence about wood carvings of themselves that the two main characters had found in a hollowed out tree, when the screaming began. Pitch was on his feet, and sprinting to Jacks room as quick as he could move. He hadn't expected Jack to have any terrible nightmares. He had given Jack such a low dosage, but everyone reacted differently he guessed. He was glad he had left Jack's door open because it allowed him faster entrance to Jack that way.

Jack was pouring sweat. His white hair was matted together, and the bed sheets had all been kicked off of the bed. Pitch sat down on the bed, next to Jack. Jack had stopped screaming for the moment, but that didn't mean forever. At least nightmares were the one thing he knew how to deal with. He had come into his inheritance when he was about Jack's age. He had still lived with his family at the time, since his college was only a short drive from their house. His nightmare sand had affected everyone in the house terribly, but none more than his sister. She would wake the house screaming, and it got to the point where his parents just stopped getting up for her, so Pitch would. He knew it was his fault for causing the nightmares in the first place. Every night when Seraphina would wake up Pitch would be at her side as quick as he could to comfort her, and escort her safely back to dreamland. His baby sister had been his reason for mastering his shadows so quickly, although he completely lost control again just a few months later when- Jack whined softly in his sleep, interrupting Pitch's train of thought. Pitch shook his head softly, bidding those old memories, long kept hidden to go away.

Pitch rubbed Jack's arm gently, calmly shushing him. Something about the noise, and the motion had always calmed Seraphina, and he was hoping it would work on Jack. The poor man looked so worn out although he was already asleep. Though his sleep was still uneasy, and his face was tensed up, Jack seemed to calm down enough for Pitch to leave for a few minutes. Pitch didn't want to try shadow-walking again at the moment as his shadows weren't even fully recovered from the golden sand the night before, let alone the multiple times he'd used them today. They were like a muscle. You have to exercise them just enough so that they gain endurance, but if you overwork them you could sprain them. If he used his shadows too much more today he was running the possibility of 'spraining' them.

He briskly walked into the bathroom, and grabbed a red wash cloth. As quick as he could he turned the water on cold, and ran the washcloth under it. After wringing out the washcloth, Pitch headed back to Jack, trying not to drip water all over the floor. Upon returning to the room he was relieved to see that Jack hadn't gotten much worse yet, which meant that either, the nightmare sand was losing against the golden sand, or they had both ran each other out. Pitch was hoping for the latter.

Jack sighed softly as Pitch placed the washcloth on his forehead. The cold soothed the heat he was feeling from the sand. Pitch, for the life of him couldn't figure out why Jack was so cold. The kid was freezing to the touch, but he was sweating like it was 100 degrees in there. As far as Pitch could tell it was still at 70 degrees where he had set it just a few days ago. Maybe it was just all the magic finally catching up with Jack? He had read about fevers occurring when to much magic is mixed with one person in a short amount of time, although he had never read about reverse fevers happening. He didn't even know how long this had been going on. When Pitch had brought Jack into his home last night he had noticed how cold he was, but had passed it off as being from falling onto the ice, and being outside for too long. Now they were inside at room temperature, and he was still as cold as an icicle!

Pitch sighed, wiping Jack's face with the rag. He had no idea what to do about Sanderson. Why had the man had golden sand with him? Pitch watched Jack toss, and turn with a solemn look on his face. Was Sandy working with North? He hadn't even been aware that Sanderson had anything to do with magic, yet that sand hadn't been there before... Pitch decided to put that off for another day. He had to get Jack better before he went off to North's tonight. There was no way Jack could miss work at North's, Showing weakness like that to North was like throwing blood to a shark. Yes, he would have to make a pick-me-up for Jack. Pitch folded up the rag, and placed it on Jack's forehead before standing up. Walking over the doorway, Pitch stopped, and glanced back at Jack who was still trapped in his nightmare.

"Don't worry Jack, you'll be fine soon."


	17. Welcome present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack get's a 'welcoming' present from the Christmas Cafe crew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block is over, but I'm sorry about this chapter. Only one thing in this whole chapter was actually supposed to happen.

Jack jolted awake from the tight- too tight- embrace of sleep. Breathing heavy, and arms shaking he sat up in the bed, disoriented. He sagged back into the sheets when he realized that he was no longer in the icy world his mind had conjured for him. With an exhausted sigh he reached up to wipe his clammy face off, but was surprised when not sweat but ice fell off of his face. His breathing quickened and his pupils darkened. Was he still dreaming? It was much to warm for him to be near any frozen water, but there had been ice on his face... The door creaked open, drawing Jack's attention away from the non-melting ice in his hand. Pitch poked his head into the doorway, his lips turning upwards in what looked like his version of a smile.

"Oh good, you're awake." He slicked his dark hair back with his left hand, and with his right he held a silver flask.

"What's in the flask?" Jack asked grinning,

"Something good I hope." Pitch waltzed over, and put it in Jack's still freezing hand. Jack took that as good enough directions to drink it, and uncapped it. It smelled like the strongest rubbing alcohol he had ever encountered. Looking up curiously Jack swished the liquid around in its container.

"So this is either going to be vodka, and make me run around in my underwear after admitting things I think about David Beckham, or it's rubbing alcohol and I'm going to die." Before Pitch could get too caught upon the David Beckham comment, Jack threw back his head, and downed the flask. It tasted like old socks, and burnt toast- not that he had ever tried that particular combination before. With a grimace Jack stuck his tongue out and capped the flask. Pitch reached over and took the flask back, before snapping his finger and banishing it to some unknown whereabouts.

"What was that?" Jack had a disgusted look on his face and the taste still wouldn't leave his mouth. Pitch smirked, and pulled Jack out of the bed.

"I'll leave so you can get changed. You slept in for far too long, it's nearly time to head back to the shop." Jack groaned as Pitch left the room, and went rooting through the old dresser on the other side of the room.

"He let's me miss school, but god forbid I don't go to work." He grumbled grabbing a pair of pants and a tight red t-shirt. He guessed it wasn't that bad, he did feel better now. Whatever had been in that flask definitely did the trick. He ran a hand through his hair to comb out the sleep tangles, and walked out of the room to join Pitch.

Pitch was standing by the door holding a white piece of fabric in his hands.

"Well then, are you ready to head out?" Pitch gestured towards the door. He had already put his black cloak on, and his free hand was resting on the door handle. Jack nodded, and Pitch pulled the door open.

"Are you not going to wear something warmer? It is snowing outside after all." Jack frowned and glanced out of the door as if he had just noticed it was snowing.

"Ah no, not today, I think it's actually a little to warm right now. Must be all this global warming stuff." Pitch gave him an odd look before tossing the fabric he was holding, at him. Jack caught it just before it could hit his face, and pulled it down to look at it. It was a simple apron adoring the words 'All Hallows' in a fine cursive script- Probably Pitch's own handwriting. The apron was white, and while that wouldn't be the best for dealing with dark-colored foods and beverages, it would match all his clothes.

"Just throw that on and lock the door behind you. I will drive you today. No sense taking two cars." Jack clicked the lock and shut the door behind him as he followed the grey man outside.

"Why aren't we just traveling like earlier?" Pitch slowed down for a moment before picking up his pace and making his way to the driver's side of his car. Snow had piled up to about 2 inches now, and crunched underfoot as he opened the car door.

"Can you honestly tell me that that is your preferred method of travel?" Pitch questioned as Jack hopped into the passenger seat. Jack had to admit that having all those shadows close around him wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world.

"But wouldn't it be quicker?" Pitch's mouth tightened, and he ripped the steering wheel tight in agitation.

"I just decided to take this way alright Jack. Now shush before I make you walk." He turned the key, and waited to pull off, there was no way he was just going to admit to Jack that he didn't have enough strength to transport them again, safely. He barely had enough to transport even just himself at the moment. Jack quieted up after that, and amused himself with counting the cars that they passed, which happened to be quite a lot as Pitch drove like a maniac.

Surprisingly when they flipped the sign at the coffee shop to 'open' it seemed to work like an alarm system to the people in the street. Within thirty minutes the place was booming again. Thankfully it wasn't as busy as his first day of work, and Jack was able to handle it quite well, until the unavoidable customer came into the shop. Everyone who works in a restaurant type place has encountered them before; they have a strict order, and no matter what you do it's wrong. Today that person was in the form of a pudgy, 50-some year old woman, wearing an eye sore of a pink sweater with pants up to the middle of her stomach. She flipped her blonde hair (Obviously dyed if the roots were anything to say about it) back, and moved with fast strides to the cash register. She scrunched her nose and the look she gave made him wonder if she was looking at a poor piece of gum at the bottom of her shoe, rather than him. Jack didn't need psychic powers to know that there would be trouble with this customer. He slapped on a fake smile, and readied himself.

"What can I getcha' today?" Her eyes narrowed like a snake, and Jack prepared himself for the oncoming storm.

"You can get me a better attitude, that's what you can start with. I'll take a tall half-skinny half percent hot split quad shot with whip cream." She sneered at him in amusement, as if watching him scramble to jot down her order was entertaining.

"Coming right up ma'am." He turned and started up the order. He poured the coffee as quick as he could, and added shot of espresso, and the normal 2 shots of coffee roast, milk, and the two shots of decaf and regular she wanted. He was moving as fast as he could, while trying to block out the sounds of her insults from behind him. She was commenting on his hair color to the people in line behind him when he turned around to hand her the cup.

"Here you go." He didn't even try to fake a happy attitude now, how could he when his customer was someone like her? Just when he thought she was going to leave, scoffed.

"You don't actually call this coffee, do you? It's not even hot." The two people in line behind her shifted uncomfortably at the foreseeable argument that was about to occur. Jack's jaw dropped.

"You haven't even tasted it yet!" He exclaimed. He could see the steam rising from under the whip cream, and honestly couldn't believe she was claiming that.

"I don't need to. I can feel the cup, it's not hot." She had the same smirk that Pitch sometimes wore, but it was malicious, and not at all friendly. 'She's just egging you on Jack. Don't let her make you mad, that's what she wants.' Jack thought as he took a deep breath.

"Okay ma'am. I'll redo it, maybe the machine wasn't on right." He put up another fake smile, but this one wouldn't even reach his eyes.

"I'll make sure it's down right scolding, just for you." He muttered under his breath as he reached for the cup in her hand. She had just been about to pass the cup to him, when he said that. She hadn't heard him all the way, but knew that whatever he had said couldn't have been too positive.

"What was that young man?" She gripped the cup tightly so Jack couldn't pull it from her hands. Jack blushed and averted his eyes away from her angry brown ones.

"It was just... I just said 'I wonder what was wrong with the machine?'" The woman gave him a tight smile, and took her hand off the cup.

Jack who had been lightly pulling on the cup from his side, gasped as the coffee fell back towards him. It would have fell all over him if someone hadn't grabbed it. From next to the woman a muscled blonde man had swiped his hand out, and grabbed the cup before it could fall all over Jack. Jack looked up in shock, to meet grass green eyes. It occurred to Jack, somewhere in the back of his mind that he had seen these eyes before somewhere, but he was to relieved to think too hard on it. His green eyed savior glared down at the pink demon, before setting the coffee down on the counter.

"I suggest you pay for your coffee, and leave the premises before I ask the manager to review the video feed from in here." He sneered at her, and got in her face before adding in a dark voice,

"And believe me I really don't wanna have ta' do that." His accent seemed to change mid sentence. How odd... The woman's face flushed red. Without meeting his eyes, she dropped the cash that the register had on the screen, and hurried out.

The green-eyed man glared as she left, but was completely taken aback when a light laugh sounded from behind him. He swirled around, and much to his surprise, saw Jack shaking with laughter.

"She- she..hahaha, she left her coffee." he sputtered out, a grin broke out on the man's thin face, but he didn't start laughing until the person in line behind him snorted, and clapped a hand over their mouths to stop themselves from laughing-it didn't work by the way. The trio was so absorbed by their laughing that it wasn't until Pitch was standing right behind Jack did they notice that he had left his office. The green-eyed man stiffened, and immediately stopped laughing, causing the other two to stop- but only for a moment. The second they looked down at the cup again they started laughing.

"And may I ask what is going on here?" Pitch asked, he didn't seem to be too amused by the coffee cup on the counter. The green-eyed man seemed to put aside whatever he had been thinking when he saw Pitch step up, and he moved closer to the counter.

"Well sir, a customer was about to assault Jack over here for no reason. When she left she just happened to forget her coffee." He smirked haughtily, and leaned on the counter. He said sir, but for some reason Jack got the feeling that Pitch, and the mystery man knew each other somehow; and they definitely weren't the best of friends. Pitch glared at the man, he didn't know the face, but the magic was familiar.

"Uh-huh, well I'll thank you for that, people tend to be so violent nowadays, don't they?" Pitch's golden eyes flashed black in warning. The green-eyed man nodded,

"Why yes, they all just seem to be increasing in violence lately." He shot Pitch a nasty grin, before waving at Jack, and heading out. Jack started the order for the last man in line, before he froze in place, a sudden realization hitting him like a train. He looked over at Pitch with an odd, scared realization showing plain as day on his face.

"Pitch... I never told him my name."

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The green-eyed man walked across the street, and into a familiar shop. He sauntered into the kitchen, threw on an apron, and pulled a small silver ring off of his hand. The change was instant. His blond hair turned dark, starting from the roots. His thin face filled out, and turned into a more masculine look rather than the studious look it had before. His shoulders filled out, and he stood at least an inch taller. A large man in a large red Christmas shirt, donning the words 'Christmas cafe' walked into the kitchen.

"Well Aster?"

"He's there."

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It was nearing 9, and Sandy hadn't come back to the shop again since that morning. The crowd had died down, and they were really only waiting on a couple in the back of the shop to leave before they could close up.

"So who was that, Pitch?" Jack asked as he swept the front of the store. Pitch, who was sitting at a table next to the front counter looked up from his book. He debated his answer for a moment before finally settling on just disregarding the issue, there was no reason for Jack to worry about things that had nothing to do with him.

"Just worry about going to the Christmas cafe." Jack's icy eyes widened. Somehow in all the chaos of today, he had completely forgotten about his second job! Jack set the broom aside and started pacing.

"What do you mean worry about that? They're not going to hurt me are they?" Jack voice got higher the more he panicked, it seemed to do that whenever he got upset, Pitch noted with a distracted curiosity.

"Well I can't know that for sure.. But North is not a man to play with sides. If you work here you are the enemy in his eyes. Just don't give him a reason to kill you, he already knows you work here. That man here earlier, he works with North. I am not sure who he is, but I know that magic." He pulled up his sleeve, and glanced at the black watch on it. Jack hadn't even realized he'd been wearing a watch.

"It just now turn nine fifty-eight, you might want to head over now, no sense being late. Don't worry, I will wait for you over here until you shift over there ends." Jack would have objected, seeing as he didn't get out of there until 3AM, but what if North did try to use magic on him? Jack waved stiffly at Pitch and rushed out of the store. Pitch was right, there was no sense being late, even if it was for his impending doom.

There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The Christmas cafe, that is. Every other shop on the street had begun turning off their lights and calling it a night, but the Christmas cafe was alight with red, green, and bright white lights. Through the window Jack could see North, Toothiana, and Bunnymund all sitting at a table with papers sprawled all around them. Taking a deep breath Jack pushed open the door, and stepped into the cafe. The jingle of the welcome bells called attention to his arrival, and the three of them looked up. Bunnymund even looked a little surprised that he had actually come back.

"Ah Jack! Is good to see you!" The Russian Santa sang with a sort of childish glee that wasn't normally found in men his age.

"Uh yeah, good to see you guys too..." Jack mumbled. After learning what he had today he wasn't too sure what to think about this group.

"So should I just get started cleaning?" he asked before he could be dragged into their war planning. North stood quickly before Jack could make his way to the cleaning supplies.

North shined a rather odd smile, like his mouth was being stretched open by puppet strings.  
"Not so fast Jackie boy, we got you a little something to say thank you for the help yesterday." In his hands was a long piece of wood the curled at the end. It looked weathered and old, but showed none of the damage that would go with that. Jack stepped forward curiously, tilting his head to get a better look at it. Forgetting his earlier concerns Jack lifted his gaze to North's.  
"A shepherd's crook?" He asked with a wavering voice. Why would they get him a shepherd's crook? Something inside him urged him to run away- to escape before it was too late. North just kept on smiling, his eyes darkening with an unreadable emotion.  
"Not just any shepherds crook, Jack. This one is…" he broke off mid-sentence and gave Jack an odd look, more specifically Jack's chest, before continuing.  
"Special." The word accompanied such an odd tone that Jack, who had been reaching for the staff, halted in his pursuit. Jack looked down at what North had been looking at, and squeaked. He had forgotten to take off his 'All Hallows' apron. North smile shrunk slightly, and if Jack hadn't been paying attention he wouldn't have noticed as it returned at full blast only a few seconds later. He pressed the glorified branch at Jack, his gloved hands barely touching it.  
"Don't be shy Jack, take it." Jack reached forwards with one hand and plucked the staff from North's hand. He kept his left hand covering the apron's logo. In the back of his mind he remembered Pitch saying something about North being able to change his thinking and command him while he was working his shift, but disregarded it. The shepherd's crook in his grasp felt...odd. Like something was wrong with it. It had a dark feel about it, but it wasn't hurting him so he couldn't just throw it out. North seemed just as confused as Jack. Like he had expected something else to happen than that. Everyone was looking at Jack oddly, now that he actually checked. Maybe they really had been planning on something else happening. He couldn't imagine what they had planned, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Umm, thanks guys, I really appreciate it." Did he really? What was he supposed to do with a crooked branch? He moved over to the cleaning supplies and awkwardly sat the staff down against the wall. He started mopping the floors, though he couldn't help but wonder if they were actually planning on hurting him. It wasn't as if he could just walk up to them and say 'Hey, I know you guys know I work over there so why haven't you killed me yet?' That would be silly. Jack noticed that the quiet murmur of conversation that had been humming around North's war planning table had gone mute. Jack looked up to see what they were doing, and found three bewildered faces staring back at him. He was confused at first, but that confusion soon turned to horror.

"Oh my god, did I just say that out loud?" He was ready to drop the mop and run out of the shop in mortification. He couldn't believe he had just said that out loud.

"Why would we kill you? Do ya' know how hard it is to find cheap employees 'round here? 'specially cheap employees who know about magic." Bunnymund told him with a horrified face. He was the one who had been screening employees until North found Jack after all. It was Jack's turn to be surprised now.

"Know about magic? What are you talking about? I thought magic was just in fairy tales until last night!" The mop laid useless in his hands, and Tooth jumped up, ready to call out his lies.

"But your necklace, that thing's laced in magic!" Jack curled his hand defensively around the broken necklace that hung over his apron. (He still couldn't believe he had left that thing on)

"What, this old thing? I got it as a gift from my co-workers when I left my old job." Bunnymund and North were gaping like fishes.

"B-but you had talked with Pitch, I saw you sign his employee script!" North babbled, Aster looked like he couldn't breath.

"Loki knew I couldn't get a job with my hair looking like this, so he asked Pitch to help me out." Jack explained with a wavering voice. Did they really have no idea he wasn't involved with all of this?

Bunnymund and Toothiana looked horrified, and North was at a loss for words.

"Jack, if we had known we would have never-..." He caught sight of Jack's palms and stopped. He looked away, but Bunnymunds's eyes followed where North's had been and looked at the palms.

"You didn't drink the potion I gave you did you?" Jack frowned at him, how could he know that? His hands were almost healed now- Jack looked up disbelievingly at Aster.

"That wasn't going to help me at all was it! What is wrong with you!" Aster averted his eyes.

"No, it would have helped you...Just- not as much as whatever you took helped you." Definitely nowhere near as much, he though in shame. North put a hand on Aster's shoulders before he could say any more.

"Jack, why don't you leave early today. I think we all need to discuss some thing before you come back." Jack rushed to put the mop away, and grabbed the staff before he left. Tooth looked like she wanted to say something about it, but stopped when North shot her a look that practically shouted 'It didn't work so leave it at that. What he doesn't know can't hurt him!'.

Jack didn't look back as he left the shop. He pulled the staff closer to him, and trudged to the snow towards All Hallows where Pitch was waiting.

Pitch hadn't expected Jack back nearly so early, and was surprised when he saw him walking back across the street at just ten o' clock. He had watched them through the window off and on, but had seen nothing that would send Jack back over here happening. Last time he looked Jack had just been mopping.

"What happened-" Had been the first words out of his mouth, followed closely by

"What in the seven hells is that!" As the putrid smell of dark magic made its way to Pitch's nose. Jack held the staff up, which was now covered in a layer of ice. Pitch's grey face drained of color.

"Put it down!" He hissed,

"Put it down, and get outside!" Jack did as he said and dropped the staff to the floor, he had no idea what had Pitch so freaked out, but whatever it was had to do with the staff. Jack nearly ran out of the shop, he was too freaked out to even think properly. But when he did start to think, he wondered if they had been lying, if it had all been an elaborate hoax to make him unknowingly deliver a dark artifact straight to Pitch.

As Pitch left his store several minutes later, he had expected to see Jack right outside it, but saw that Jack had moved several feet over, and was leaning up again his car's trunk. He realized with a tidal wave of pity that he hadn't given Jack the keys to get into the car, and left him waiting in the snow all this time. Jack was looking a little worse for wear than he had been just a few minutes ago.

"Jack, are you alright?" Jack was breathing hard, like he couldn't catch his breath. Pitch pushed the 'unlock' button on his car keys and put an arm under Jack's arm to help support him.

"C'mon Jack, let's get you in the car." Pitch murmured, Jack was freezing still, and Pitch had no idea what the staff had done to him. All he knew was that whatever they had given him was completely soaked in dark magic, and Jack had carried it right next to him.

Pitch moved Jack up to the passenger door, but it seemed the farther he moved him the worse Jack got. When Pitch had opened the door and placed Jack in the seat was when everything started tumbling downhill.

Jack started clutching at his throat, and trying to gasp for air that wasn't entering his lungs. Jack's lungs had stopped working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So review, kudos, walk away and ask yourself why you've read 17 chapters of this. Do what you want. Also, someone on here gave me an idea in the reviews, but I can't remember if it was the reviews on here or on fanfiction, so I'm going to go search through all the reviews to find that persons username so I can give them the credit when I use the idea! Goodnight everyone. it's 2 AM, and I'm tired.


	18. A storm in the midst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The feud between North and Pitch has never been more dangerous.

Jack was grasping at anything he could to pull himself up; to get himself closer to any air. He could open his mouth, but no air could make it to his lungs. It was like taking a pill without water; he couldn't swallow the air his body needed so desperately. He could hear Pitch shouting something, but it seemed like he was miles away. His panicked voice echoed in his ears, but his mind was like smoke in a casino: Everywhere, and no where, muddled in with everything and blurring around him. All he could think about was the sharp burning in his throat. He clenched his eyes shut and shook fiercely as his body finally started to realize its oxygen source was depleted.

Pitch had no idea what to do. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do, and he was terrified. Jack kept trying to inhale frantically, his hand had caught a hold of Pitch's cloak and tugged at it fervently. Pitch could feel his terror, and not for the first time cursed his affinity with fear. With each passing second Jack seemed to grow paler, his face the color of the snow he was laying in. Even if it would help him Pitch knew that he would not have enough time to make it to the hospital before Jack's heart gave out as well. He would have probably kneeled there, paralyzed by fear until it did if someone hadn't grabbed him from behind and shook him.

Pitch swung around, startled, and came face to face with none other than Nicholas St. North. The fierce red-eyed demon stood towering over him in all his furious glory. Pitch looked up in horror as North reached for him. He shook himself for not realizing it quicker. Why Jack had gotten out early, why they had given him a seemingly harmless staff: It had all been part of the plan. They must have known he would stop outside to help Jack, leaving his defense down right in the battleground. He balled his hands into fist, prepared to do anything he could to stop North. If he didn't stop North, Jack would have no chance of survival. Just before he could swing out North started shouting.

"Quickly! We must get him back to the staff!" Pitch wondered mutely if he was hearing him right, but realized that he had to act quickly. He promised Jack he would keep him safe from them, and if this was the way to do it... Pitch jumped up with renewed fervor as North yanked Jack up from the ground. Anyone with two eyes, or maybe even one, could see that Jack wouldn't last much longer. His struggles had decreased to almost non-existence now. Pitch sped to his shop, unlocking the door before North could reach it with Jack.

"Get him in, and don't bother about looking around, you're only in here because him!" The wind howled fiercely for a moment before quitting all at once. The snow around them stopped, and Pitch felt a ball of lead bury itself in his stomach. Eyes widening he shut the door behind them as they rushed in. Without missing a beat North had Jack onto a table, and was pulling his apron and sweatshirt off to get some pressure off of his lungs. Pitch threw over the staff, and North caught it without even looking up. It made Pitch realize with a shudder that this man had 20 more years of experience than him, could kill him right now and no one would know for hours, and he just shut himself into a room with him, alone.

"Grab a book. His heart stopped." North shouted. Pitch felt the lead in his stomach grow heavier and a cold feeling settled over him.

"I can't." This was it. Jack would die here, and it would be all his fault. North turned those furious red eyes towards him.

"What do you mean you can't?" He growled.

"I mean that I have already used the resurrection spell on him once before just a few nights ago." He spit back, North wouldn't be able to save Jack. That spell was a one time only thing. North's face turned into a snarl, before what Pitch sad actually registered in his mind. North's face fell and just then, he looked every bit his age. He looked back at the unmoving boy on the table top solemnly. He had just killed someone. He had just killed someone who had never even slighted him...well, slightly!

"Oh god," He gasped.

"We didn't mean for this to happen. It was just supposed to shock him. I don't even know what it really did to him." He back away guiltily from the body. Pitch's grey face was almost ashen in color, and he leaned up against the window to hold himself steady. Jack was dead. The resurrection spell had been North's one hope that he could save him. It was the only one that could be preformed so quickly, and with no other ingredients to be prepared for it.

"What have you done?" Pitch's voice was hoarse from shock. As crazy as he knew North was...Killing a barely legal kid, that was something he would have never thought possible. Nicholas backed towards the door, his face seemed to be frozen in.. Well Pitch wasn't sure what exactly Nicholas was feeling at the moment. As North opened the door, Pitch felt an overwhelming anger take hold of him.

"Nicholas North. I can assure you that by the end of this month, The Christmas café will be no more." This was a promise he intended to keep, for Jack if no one else. North nodded in grim understanding. He wouldn't go down without a fight, but he knew Pitch would fight like no other. With one last fleeting glance at Jack, North left the shop.

As soon as North was gone, the anger flooded out of him and he staggered on his feet. The weight on his shoulders was nearly too great to bear. He collapsed into a nearby chair and rested his hands on his face. Jack was laying dead, right across the room from him. What would he tell the police? What would he tell Jack's family? How could he explain that his employee died in his shop three hours after the shop was supposed to be closed, and all he had to prove it was a thermal camera on the wall. What would the police see if he showed them that? Two figures rushing in with a body slung over their shoulder? Pitch was startled out of his thoughts by an unmistakable gasp for breath in the otherwise silent shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, and most definitely not sweet. This chapter's really short, but it had to be. This is the gateway chapter of sorts. This chapter marks the turning point of the story. The feud between North and Pitch has never been more dangerous, and what's this? Someone is gasping for breath on the other side of the shop. I haven't decided the way the story's gonna go yet, but this is the chapter that everything has to change at. So review, and tell me what you thinks gonna happen, what you like, what you don't like, what you would like to see more of, anything!


	19. Side effects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch discovers something which brings up old memories (Which won't be mentioned until next chapter :1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, I know, and a really long update time, (I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be opposite that) but I'll have the rest of the chapter out by Monday morning. This is just to show that I have actually been working, but writers block has amounted it to this. I'll let you know now that I do plan on finishing this fanfic no matter how long that takes. I sat down Thursday night and planned out a whole bunch of this in detail so now I know how it ends and the lead up to that I just hope my less than OK writing doesn't deter you from reading. Sorry again for the wait and I'm installing regular update times of Saturday by 5pm unless something comes up (And even then I'll have the schedule back to normal in due time.)

Pitch jumped up quick enough to capsize the chair he was sitting at. His heart was almost leaping out of chest. The unexpected noise was enough to collar his rabid thoughts, for now at least.

"What the..." He had been about to pull a few shadows from his arm, when he saw the source of the noise. His arm fell slack against his side, dark brows shooting up in alarm.

"Jack?" He was almost hesitant to call out to him. Afraid would be a better word to describe him actually. Jack had been dead, that was for certain. Sure there was the possibility that North could have lied about not feeling a pulse, but even then he knew no human could survive that long without breathing. Even when you weren't in the witchcraft business, corpses rising of their own accord were never a good sign.

Jack looked up at almost whiplash inducing speeds when his name was called. His throat was burning, and he couldn't seem to sate his need for air as he gulped it in greedily. He was exhausted, and with the way Pitch was staring at him he must look like a mess. Wincing at the strain on his incredibly parched throat he started talking.

"Wh-what happened?" The words fell from his lips like lava, and he regretted trying to talk, but it seemed to give some relief to Pitch, whose shoulders lost some of their tension.

"My god Jack... You're alive!" Pitch rushed up as soon as Jack spoke. No corpse would be able to speak so clearly, even if his voice had been a bit gravely. Pitch was so relieved that his newest employee was alive that he ran straight up and enveloped him in a hug. A few moments later he pulled back after realizing that he was hugging someone he'd known for less than a week, and it certainly didn't help matters that this someone was shirtless.

"Uh-err uhm, sorry about that Jack. I just can't believe that you're alive!" Jack nodded slowly in understanding, the blush on his face standing out even more so now against his stark white face.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? I'm alive? Of course I'm alive. Why wouldn't I be?" Pitch's eyebrows rose to his hairline and he checked over Jack subtly to make sure he hadn't sustained any visible head trauma. When he was sure he hadn't, Pitch answered Jack.

"Jack... I don't know how to put this lightly, but you died just a few minutes ago." Jack gazed at him blankly before shooting off the table like a rocket. He would have dropped onto the floor if Pitch hadn't stopped him from falling.

"Oooh, I'm a ghost, beware!" He exclaimed sarcastically, wiggling his tired arms about like a giant noodle.

"C'mon man, I heard you and whoever else was here yelling about the staff and taking me in here. Y'all wouldn't have just let me die!" he laughed, but Pitch's expression remained somber.

"Y-you're not kidding are you? I really died? But then how am I alive, now?" Pitch was wondering the same thing. Once Jack legs had stopped being a useless, jiggily mass, he limped over to the window to get a better view of his current condition from his reflection. Once the swirling in his head stopped, Jack appraised himself in the mirror before coming to the realization that:

"Heh, I look like an albino." Despite the situation Pitch couldn't help but give a shaky laugh. It was true. Jack's skin was almost all the way white where the blood stopped circulating in his face earlier, along with the white hair, if he closed his eyes he probably could be mistaken for a walking lump of snow. Pitch snorted at the thought of Jack hiding in the snow and scaring people, before tossing him his sweatshirt. He figured Jack would see it coming in the reflection, but not for the first time this night, he was wrong. The bunched up sweatshirt hit the back of his head and flopped down to the ground.

"Ow what the he- Oh thanks. I was wondering where that went." He tugged on the sweatshirt and moved his amulet so it showed over his sweatshirt, being careful not to jostle the cracked part of it. Looking at his amulet brought up another question now that they were on the subject.

"So if you don't know how I survived this, then what about that car accident? You said you had something to do with me surviving that."

Pitch nodded and leaned against one of the café's tables.

"Yes, I did. When you slammed up against the windshield-Should have been wearing a seatbelt by the way, would have saved all this hassle- you died, but I managed to revive you with a resurrection spell." Jack nodded, and then cracked a smile to ease to tense atmosphere.

"Well would it have killed you to have chosen a spell without all these wonky side effects?" Jack joked, instead of the half smile he'd gotten so used to seeing appear on Pitch's face, the man's face froze; a cold shiver of dread easing its way into him.

_"What do you mean by side-affects?"_


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lol just realized that this version on a03 is different than the one on fanfiction which means that fanfiction got two paragraphs more than you for all these months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what fanfiction had that you all didn't, on FF this is mixed in with the last chapter.

_"What do you mean by side-affects?"_

This couldn't be happening, not again. He was older now, better at magic. So how could this be happening again?

Jack stepped back from Pitch, whose eyes had begun changing from a bright silvery-gold colour, to something akin to coal. Jack recalled that North's eyes had done that as well, had it been a side effect of their magic usage as well? Pitch's eyes were black and wide, his face was frozen in place and Jack had no idea what was wrong.

"Just my eyes, and the temperature." Pitch strode towards Jack and gripped his chin with his right hand, turning it to look into his blue eyes.

"That's right, they were brown before weren't they?" He mused aloud, his voice withdrawn as he released Jack's chin.

"What did you mean 'temperature'?" It couldn't be like last time, he had to have gotten better than last time. Maybe the fact that the side effects were showing up so quickly now was a good sign. He wished more than anything that it was just a small price to pay. Sure, magic needed a price, but it wasn't usually steep. Never as steep as with Seraphina. He flinched as her name invaded his thoughts and pushed them, once again, to the back of his mind. It wouldn't do to dwell on such things, especially not right now.

Jack hesitated before answering, he knew this was bothering Pitch and now he was honestly starting to get a bit worried himself

"Well I just…Everything seems to be cold now." Pitch's eyes reverted back to their normal eclipse colour and he set his hand on his hip.

"Jack. It's winter. There's snow on the ground right now and you think it's odd that you are cold?" Jack blushed although the blood sill didn't seem to be circulating right as only a light pink donned his face. "No I mean… Well here, see for yourself." He pressed both of his hands to Pitch's face and watched as Pitch recoiled.

"Err, sorry, it was rude of me to…Well I shouldn't have touched you. I mean we've only known each other for a week and you don't seem like the guy who likes other guys to have their hand all up on your face-or anyone for that matter, I didn't mean to imply that you were ehm, batting for the other team it just, and I-" Jack couldn't stop rambling. All he could do was stare at Pitch and hope that the man would stop him. Pitch snapped out of his shock and grabbed a hold of Jack's shoulder.

Pulling on the shadows, he transported them back to the house using another expanse of shadows to hold onto the staff that North had left abandoned on the floor. The second they hit the floor he let go of Jack and sighed heavily.

"I am sorry for all this Jack, I thought that over the years I would have grown strong enough to stop this from happening again." Clenching his fist he turned and made his way to the basement door. Opening it he turned back once more to Jack.

"And remember Jack Frost- I don't care if there's a damn nuclear bomb about to drop and the only way to save the country is by coming into this basement- You will not step one foot into the basement. Don't even breathe near the door." And then he was off down the stairs like ever growing mystery he was, the shadows pulling the staff behind him and slamming the door shut. Jack was about to turn back towards his room when what Pitch said actually caught up to him.

"Wait a minute…what did he mean by again?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything there is to learn about the staff and more. Four actually chapters left and one epilogue.

Jack couldn't sleep.

He really couldn't. He'd been lying there on the guest bed for hours, even the moon had gone to bed before he could. He didn't feel tired, but that didn't change the fact that a little shut eye would be more than appreciated after the events of the previous day.

Resigning himself to the fact that no sleep would be found for him today he slumped out of the bed and rolled himself to his bag to grab some clean clothes. He didn't have class today, but that still didn't mean he could just lay about all day. He hadn't heard Pitch leave the basement all night either and figured he might take a chance and try and lure Pitch up the stairs. That whole 'don't even breathe near the door' thing kind constrained his plans a little.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Jack felt better than he'd felt all week. Well better if you count the fact that it took him 20 minutes to find a comfortable temperature that didn't feel like it was going to melt his skin off (Almost as cold as the water could go.), and when he looked into the mirror, someone different stared back at him. Someone pale and blue eyed and frightened. When he stepped back out into the hallway the last thing he'd expected to see was Pitchner Black leaning against the adjacent hall waiting for him.

"Jack, we need to talk." The universal break-up sentence. Only they weren't dating, or even close to it. This was his boss.

"Oh Jesus," Jack groaned in resignation

"You're not firing me are you?" Pitch's eyes widened and then narrowed faster than a blink and he swept towards Jack with the intensity and wildness of a forest fire. Gripping Jack's chin with his hand, he stared deep into his eyes- eyes that had once been brown.

"This isn't about some silly college job anymore, Jack! You're never going to be the same! Never! I've looked through every spell I could get my hands on and even more books on resurrection. I can't fix you." Pitch was breathing hard, and his grip on Jack had tightened even more so. Jack wasn't sure what the big deal was though. Sure he'd never read 98.6 on a thermometer again, and yeah, his eyes are blue now, but he actually kind of thought blue suited him better.

Taking a sharp breath, Jack responded as seriously as he though the situation called for.

"So I'm not fired?" Pitch's eyes dilated and he released his grip on Jack's face as if it burned him. He let out a high, panicked laugh, before throwing his head back and laughing even harder. Jack hadn't been scared before, but now, with Pitch's dark, hollow laughter filling his ears he couldn't help but feel a sliver of fear snake around him.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Pitch had stopped laughing, but a dark smile remained on his face.

"It doesn't just stop here. That rune that you had around your neck, when it broke it formed the rune for water, but magic, magic isn't like anything you've ever encountered, Jack. It's volatile, explosive. One little thing can completely change a spell. Your little rune's magic was effected by the weather. Such a trivial thing, but what is ice other than frozen water? There was protection magic on the neckless, and it was amplified by the resurrection spell, enough to bring you back to life after dying just a few hours ago." He rubbed his eyes tiredly and Jack couldn't seem to understand what this all meant.

"But it brought me back again right? So the magic's all used up?" Jack's voice was more than hopefull and Pitch couldn't help but wince at it.

"I- I studied the staff last night. It seems that when the staff is more than… oh I don't know, maybe 20 feet away from you at the most, your lungs shut down. It mingled with the remaining magic of your pendant and now it's some sort of easy-to-carry oxygen tank."

Jack's breath hitched and his hands were shaking.

"But it's not effecting me now, maybe- maybe it's worn off? Maybe I'll be fine." His voice broke and his lip wobbled.

"You room and the bathroom are directly above the basement, specifically where the staff is being kept. That's nowhere near 20 feet away from you." Jack collapsed. It was so unexpected that Pitch didn't have time to catch him as his knees dropped out from underneath him.

He was shaking uncontrollably, but still managed to ask one more question.

"If I die again… Will I come back?" Pitch frowned.

"The staff is feeding off you as a source now. That mixed with the amulet, with a human life as a power source, the staff will never cease to amplify that protection spell." Pitch kneeled beside Jack, and picked him up off the ground. He'd picked up Jack more times since he'd met him than anyone he'd ever met all combined.

"So I'll never die? I'll just keep coming back to life again and again while everyone I've ever known grows old and dies?" Jack was nearly hysterical and he was clutching Pitch like a lifeline, his legs tightening around Pitch's waist.

"What about growing old too? Will I age or will the protection spell cover that too? What if I age and still don't die. I could last 200 years, would I look 200 or still look like this?" Pitch didn't know. He really didn't and it was killing him. He did this to Jack. Caused him all this pain, ruined his life. Jack would never be able to marry, or have children now. How could anyone be intimate with someone who could freeze you if you held them for too long?

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, unable to stop himself. Jack just cried harder into his shoulder, and Pitch couldn't help but cry too.


End file.
